


The Prince

by kainess



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Humor, M/M, Narry - Freeform, Phan - Freeform, one direction - Freeform, ziam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-05 23:44:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 44,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12199662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kainess/pseuds/kainess
Summary: A story where Niall's a prince, Harry's his bodyguard, Zayn's an evil king, and Louis and Liam are his right hand men.





	1. Summary

Niall Horan lived a normal life as a prince until he was around seven years old. His father died trying to protect their kingdom, the West Kingdom, seemingly ending an ongoing war between the East and the West Kingdoms. Or at least everyone thought.

\-----

**Disclaimer**

I've been working on this story on my [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/user/porkchonyul), so there's already quite a few chapters I have done. Enjoy :)

I also don't think I need to say this for obvious reasons, but I don't own One Direction or any of the members; unfortunately.

I don't plan for there to be any triggers in this, but if there is **I'll be sure to post a warning at the top of the chapter.**

**There is also a ~possibility~ of character death.**

This story's gonna have a lot of ships, I can already feel it. I ship literally everyone together.  
I might hold a poll of which ships I'll have sail later on if things go well.

Happy reading!

-B


	2. A Naive Prince

"I don't know why she's so concerned." Niall mumbles to himself as he ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated manner. "The East Kingdom wouldn't dare lay a finger on me if they want to be our ally. Besides, we won the war. Why would they dare try and start another?"

"I don't know." Niall jumped slightly from the sudden deep voice beside him, sighing in relief when noticing it was only Harry. "You can never be too sure what the East Kingdom is thinking of. They've always been rather unpredictable."

"I suppose that's true." Niall sighs as Harry sits down on the bench next to him, his gaze roaming around the royal garden.

"Especially with that hotheaded king of theirs. It never hurts to be a little cautious around here sometimes." A chill immediately shoots down Niall's body at the mere thought of the King. His name is Zayn and he's without a doubt one of the evilest people to walk the earth; if you could even call him a person. Villagers often whisper rumours among themselves of Satan himself being scared of Zayn. He was the reason the East Kingdom had so many enemies. He was known for attacking the other kingdoms and taking their villagers as prisoners. There was once a story going around claiming that he would experiment on the prisoners, trying to mutate them so he could create the perfect army. The scariest part though is that the East Kingdom's already an incredibly powerful kingdom. Not as powerful as Niall's kingdom, but still powerful enough to inflict some major damage and strike fear into many hearts. However, those were just rumours and it did Niall no good to get himself worked up over such things.

"Why wait until I'm eighteen years of age? I just don't understand it. For all we know it's just something someone made up. There's no actual proof of Zayn wanting to kidnap me, yet my mother is still making this into a big deal."

"She has good reason to make it into a big deal. I don't think that you need reminding that your father died at the hands of Zayn's father, the previous King of the East. Your father is also the reason why Zayn's father is dead." Harry responds calmly.

Niall shifts uncomfortably from the current conversation. While he didn't think Zayn had any future plans involving him, it still wasn't something he likes thinking about. If Zayn managed to somehow sneak past his mother, Harry, and the rest of the guards then Niall would for sure be a dead man. And with Harry mentioning it, a revenge plot against Niall wasn't that unlikely.

"Why are you worrying about it all of a sudden? This Zayn thing has never seemed to bother you before." Harry pulled Niall out of his thoughts, his gaze turning to him though Harry's remains on the flowers around them. Niall just shrugs his shoulders lamely in response. He didn't have an actual answer as to why it was bothering him. It just was. Wouldn't it bother Harry if he were told the world's evilest King wanted to kidnap him? Then again, Harry is already putting his life at risk just by being his bodyguard.

A deep chuckle comes from Harry as he quietly stands up. "We should head back inside soon. Your mother doesn't like you out of the castle for too long, especially not when it's this late out." Harry hums, running a hand through his long curly hair. Niall could have sworn he saw an unknown emotion flicker through his eyes, though he stays silent.

"I'll go back inside. Just give me a moment alone out here?" It came out more of a question than a statement. Harry listens, but not without a hesitant look before making his way to the castle. Niall sighs to himself, looking around the garden. It was truly beautiful. It didn't compare to the gardens that the North Kingdom had, but it was still breathtaking nonetheless. Niall's mother was always a fan of planting, something that she became even more interested in after his father's passing. The Queen of course had people hired to take care of her garden, but that didn't stop her from working on it herself as well.

"Prince Niall!" Niall groans quietly when hearing Harry call out for him, rolling his eyes naturally in response.

"I'm coming. Calm down, Harry. Can't even get a bloody five minutes alone." Niall mumbles as he makes his way over to the castle. As Niall reached the other he had a playful complaint ready about how the taller never gives him his space, though he pauses when seeing his demeanor. Harry's face was paler, dark bags sunken under his eyes. He also seemed a lot stiffer than he normally is. It was something Niall wasn't used to seeing, as serious and uptight as Harry can be. Harry must have noticed the way Niall was looking at him, quickly dismissing his thoughts and any possible questions he might have asked.

"I just have a bad feeling about something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something isn't right." Harry says honestly. Nothing felt different to Niall, but he also wasn't trained in the way that Harry is. Niall's trained in the way where he needed to know how to behave and interact with people whereas Harry's trained how to spot out a potential threat from miles away. Before Niall could even respond, Harry flashed him a reassuring smile. It was one of Niall's favorite smiles of his; the one where his dimples really stood out. "It's okay, probably nothing. I just tend to get a little worked up when we talk about the East Kingdom."

Niall studies Harry's facial expression closely, not really believing the reassurance he was given. "If you say so, Haz." He mumbles as he walks inside with the older. "We should probably go to bed soon. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Niall says before excusing himself to his room.

\------

"Would you shut it?" A man snaps as his partner trips over his own feet. "We aren't trying to wake up the entire West Kingdom." He sighs, running a hand over his face. "One would think that a shapeshifter would be more graceful than you."

"I'm graceful when I need to be, you freak show." The smaller man huffs quietly. "Besides, I'm not even shifted. I don't need to be graceful when I'm in my human form."

"I'm not a freak show! It could be a lot worse. _You_ could be stuck with a lot worse." He hisses out, turning to face his partner. The smaller man puts his hands up in the air defensively, backing away slightly from the other man. "And you need to be graceful in your human form when we're sneaking around a kingdom that we don't belong to."

"Correction, that I don't belong to." He mumbles under his breath, though awkwardly clears his throat when the other keeps his glare set on him. "Calm down, don't set me on fire now big guy. You have such a temper sometimes; no one is going to be catching us. You just need to take a deep breath." He tsks.

"Enough of this. We only have a few hours before the sun comes up. We need to do this soon if we don't want to deal with any witnesses. Once we get into the castle and get the prince, we take off and bring him back to Zayn." The taller man says, eyes boring into his partner.

"I'm not sure how we're going to get in without them hearing us."

"Well if you don't trip over your feet then we won't have to worry about that." He says, frowning slightly when his gaze lands on the castle, fire starting to form in his hands. "We'll have him soon enough."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I love Zayn, okay? I don't actually think he's evil or anything, but I thought he would be a pretty badass person for a character like this.  
> See you guys in the next chapter!  
> -B


	3. Bump in the Night

It was only hours before dawn and Niall couldn't talk himself into falling asleep. The last few hours had been spent by rolling around in his bed, trying to find a position that was comfortable for more than five minutes. It normally didn't take much for him to fall asleep; it usually only took his head touching the pillow for him to fall into a deep hibernation.

The conversation he had had with Harry earlier was the reason for the lack of sleep he was getting. Something about the way Harry looked before Niall had retreated to his room stuck with him. Harry was most definitely keeping something from him and that was frustrating. If Harry was upset then it probably had something to do with him, right? After all, Harry's job basically revolves around him. Why else would he be upset?

Niall's pulled out of his thoughts when he hears a crash by his bedroom window. Niall slowly sits up, his eyes already adjusted to the darkness as he had been up for a while now. He tiredly rubs at his eyes before cautiously climbing out of bed, not sure what he should be expecting. Had something in his room fallen over? He couldn't recall leaving anything out that would fall in the middle of the night, but he wouldn't put it past himself either. 

Niall immediately freezes in his spot when he notices something shuffling around in the dark. His heart's pounding, not sure if he should call for Harry or not. He was nearly positive he hadn't left something out now, but now brought the question of what was actually in his bedroom? Just as Niall opens his mouth to yell for Harry, a small black cat with bright blue eyes jumps out from the corner of the room. 

"Oh, why you're just a cat! You're a cute little thing, aren't you?" Niall cooes over the small cat, a huge wave of relief washing over him. "How did you even get in here? I didn't think a cat could climb that high." Niall mumbles as he scoops the cat up into his arms, looking out the window. "I mean, we're kind of high up right now. Can cats climb walls? I'm going to ask Harry that tomorrow." Niall says as he sits down on his bed. He stares down at the cat, gently scratching it behind the ear. 

How did the cat get into his room? A bird would be one thing, but this is a cat that supposedly came in through his castle window. And a black cat of all things. Black cats have always been rumoured to carrying bad luck wherever they went. Niall wasn't one to believe in silly rumours, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't creeped out that one ended up in his bedroom anyways. 

"I was always told that cats like you were bad luck. You aren't going to hurt me now, are you?" Niall asks jokingly just as his bedroom door is pushed open. 

"Niall-" Harry starts before getting cut off when the cat violently claws at Niall's right cheek. Niall immediately scurries away from the cat before it hops off the bed, darting past Harry and disappearing into the hall. Niall just stares at Harry with wide eyes as his mind desperately tries to register what just happened. "Are you okay?" Harry breathes as he hurries over, looking at the bleeding cut closely. Niall just nods his head dumbly as he stares up at Harry. 

"What are you even doing up at this hour?" He asks as Harry lifts his hand, a golden orb forming around it before the candle on Niall's nightstand flickers to life with a flame. 

"I heard a crash in your room and then I heard you talking. I thought someone had broken in. Turns out it was just some rabid cat." He snorts quietly as his eyes flash white, Niall's drawer opening, a white cloth floating over to the two of them. "I charged in expecting you to be attacking some random intruder, not being attacked by a kitten." Harry says as he grabs the cloth from mid air.

"Shut up." Niall huffs quietly as Harry gently dabs at Niall's wound. "That was not a kitten and you know it. How did it even get in? Don't we have guards for a reason?"

"Do you want me to ask your mother to place guards by your window as you sleep so you aren't attacked by black cats?" Harry asks with a shit eating grin plastered on his face. Niall just rolls his eyes in response, wanting nothing more than to slap that grin off of his face. 

"Don't bring this up to my mother. You already know how she worries over nothing. She might actually pass out if she finds out that a black cat somehow got into my bedroom." Niall sighs as Harry moves the cloth away from his face. 

"How are you going to hide that scratch on your cheek? If anything I'll end up getting blamed for not protecting you." Harry hums as he places the cloth on Niall's bed. "Or worse, she'll think I've lost control of my magic."

"I'll just tell her I did it myself somehow. It wouldn't be the first time I ended up doing something like that."

"That's true. I'd believe that." A low chuckles leaves Harry as he backs away, making his way back towards Niall's door. "Should I stand outside your door the rest of the night?" Harry jokingly asks before Niall tosses a slipper at him, just barely missing his head. "Alright, alright. I can tell when I'm not wanted. See you in the morning, sunshine." Harry says as he gently closes Niall's bedroom door, leaving Niall to himself.

"Can a lad just not get some decent sleep for once?" He groans to himself as he throws himself back onto his bed, burying his face into his fluffy pillows. "Just a simple man with simple wants."

\------

"Where the fuck were you?" The smaller man whispers angrily as he rushes towards his partner. "I had him with his guard down! You were supposed to come up behind him and knock him out! An easy win." The man lets out an annoyed groan when he's left without a response. "Liam!" 

"What, Louis?" Liam asks with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He sighs quietly when seeing how enraged he was. "I panicked. I didn't...I didn't want Niall to see me. Not yet." 

"Niall is going to end up seeing you regardless when we take him to Zayn. Don't think that Zayn's not going to have you help me get him. You knew Niall and Zayn's going to use that to his advantage when he finds out." 

"I barely knew Niall." Liam retorts as Louis rolls his eyes. "And don't you dare bring that up to Zayn."

"You can explain to Zayn why we are coming back empty handed. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like getting killed tonight." Louis snaps angrily as the pair walk through the woods. "And I'm not some snitch, Liam. But Zayn is going to find out eventually and you're going to regret that we didn't get him tonight." Louis hisses before shifting into a black raven and flying away, leaving Liam to walk back alone.


	4. Witch's Visions

Liam lets out a deep sigh as he stands in front of the royal doors with Louis. He knew Zayn wouldn't be pleased that they returned without Niall, but Liam wasn't exactly sure how he would react. He's seen Zayn angry plenty of times, but it was hardly ever directed at him or Louis. Liam knew that Zayn has a soft spot for Louis, so he was pretty sure that if Zayn did get angry, it would be directed mostly at himself.

"Let's just get this over with." Louis mumbles more so to himself before pushing the two giant doors open. "Hey, Zayn." Louis greets him softly as the two of them stand by the now open doors. There was a cold air surrounding Zayn which sometimes made it nearly unbearable for Liam to breathe properly around him due to strung up nerves.

"That was quick." Zayn speaks calmly, looking over the two men standing in front of him. "I see that the Prince isn't with you." Liam swallows a lump in his throat, his stomach knotting up from nerves. Both Liam and Louis stay quiet as they try to form excuses in their minds.

"Where is he?" Zayn asks, his gaze landing on Liam. Louis could tell that Zayn's patience was running short. His temper was always thin when it came to the Prince of the West.

"We were unable to capture him." Louis replies softly. Zayn's gaze is now on Louis, silently demanding him to continue. Louis licks his chapped lips nervously, shifting in his spot uncertainly. Those eyes could be quite intimidating. "There were too many witnesses. All of the guards were awake. The Queen herself hadn't even gone to bed yet."

Zayn raises an eyebrow as he listens to Louis. "That's all?" Liam chews on his bottom lip as he glances over at Louis, trying to figure out where Louis was taking this. "What about you, Liam?" Zayn asks harshly, his hard gaze landing on Liam. Liam freezes in his spot as he stares at Zayn, looking similar to a deer in headlights. Liam opens his mouth, though no words are able to come out. At this point, Zayn's patience is noticeably running short. Sometimes Liam wonders if Zayn actually enjoys seeing Liam like this because Louis almost never got this treatment from him. As if noticing this, Louis immediately speaks up on Liam's behalf.

"Liam had managed to get into the castle unnoticed. He was close to getting the Prince but I had him retreat since his personal guard was getting closer." At this, Zayn's facial expression softens slightly, nodding his head once. Liam's eyes narrow slightly. He knew for sure that if he had said that Louis was the one who got into the castle and that he was the one to fuck it up, Zayn would have his head.

"Fine. I'll send the two of you back another day at a different time. Probably later in the night." Zayn mumbles as he runs a hand through his jet black hair. Liam and Louis just nod their heads in response before hurriedly exiting the room once they were dismissed.

"Holy shit." Louis snorts quietly as Liam lets out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding. "Pretty intense guy, isn't he?" Louis says in an attempt to lighten the mood, leaning against the wall.

"You're telling me." Liam says shakily as he sits down on one of the chairs in the hall. "Thanks for, uh, covering me back there. He would have torn me apart."

"He definitely would have. One of his biggest pet peeve's is when a mission of his fails. He likes me too much to rip me apart, so I thought it would be fine if I twisted the truth a little." Liam smiles softly at Louis' words.

"I'll make it up to you. We'll get him next time." Liam sighs as he leans the back of his head against the wall.

"We're going to have to. I don't think I'll be able to talk our way out of the next one if we show up for a second time without the Prince." Though Liam doesn't want to admit it, he knows deep down that Louis is right. While he doesn't want to betray Niall and Harry, he's starting to not have a choice. He wasn't even sure how he ended up here in the first place. Well, that's a lie. He knew exactly why he was there and how he got there.

"Look, I don't know what exactly happened between you and the Prince of the West, but you need to forget about all of that if you want to survive this place. We don't have time to sit around and think about the past. All that matters is that you are here now working for the King of the East. That should be your top priority. Zayn could kill you in the blink of an eye. Hell, he could kill me in the blink of an eye if he really wanted to."

"I know, I know. I'm really trying here, Louis. It's not easy when-"

"You left on your own accord, Liam. You left the West Kingdom. You came here." Louis says as he stares at Liam.

"I didn't come here. Zayn found me and brought me here. You know that."

"You still left."

"I know."

There's a brief silence between the pair before Louis changes the subject. "We need to start planning for the next mission. Trust me, you'll be on his good side if you propose ideas to him instead of making him plan the entire thing. You can tell him whatever the two of us come up with. I'm already on his good side enough as it is. It wouldn't hurt for you to get there." Louis chuckles as Liam rolls his eyes.

"Let's go find some lunch and we can start planning then. We need to come up with a new strategy. Maybe find a way to get the Prince away from his damn bodyguard." Louis hums as Liam gets up. "The sooner we have a plan for Zayn, the better." Liam nods at Louis' words as the two of them start to make their way down the hall and out of the castle.

\------

Silence. That was all Harry needed at the moment. Whenever he found himself getting worked up about certain things, he was able to mediate and the problems would vanish. Because Harry was a witch it was extremely important to make sure that he was always balanced and in control of his emotions as they correlated with his magic. If he wasn't, he would lose control of his powers and he could be left with very deadly consequences.

He was being driven insane with visions from his dreams of Liam in need of help. He didn't know where he was, what he needed help from, or what dark magic he managed to get himself involved with, but he knew Liam was out there somewhere and needed his help. Sometimes Harry saw Zayn in the visions of Liam and that made him uneasy to no end. While most people don't jump to sudden conclusions from dreams, witches normally have more accurate dreams and therefore it's necessary that they look at visions thoroughly.

Harry was sat floating in the middle of his room, candles and charms surrounding him as he sat quietly with his eyes closed. His breathing was at a steady pace as he was able to shut out the rest of the world around him. It seemed as if it had only been a few minutes before there was a presence in the room that was not of his own.

"I know you're there." Harry says as he keeps his eyes closed, trying to maintain the steady breathing. "Haven't you been told not to sneak up on a witch?"

"I know." Niall says softly as he gazes up at the meditating man. "I was going to wait until you were finished to say anything."

"The presence of another is always distracting. There is no waiting." Harry says before opening his eyes. "You're lucky I was almost done or else you would have frightened me." He says as he lowers himself back to the floor, his candles and charms following. His eyebrows furrow as he stares at the young prince in front of him. "There's something on your mind. It's not healthy to keep things bottled up. Go on." He says gently, the charms going back to their proper places in the room. Niall just takes a deep breath and nods his head before speaking.

"You've been acting weird lately. I notice things, you know. You may have been my guard for three years, but you've been my best friend for way longer." Harry frowns slightly from Niall's words. He was well aware that he was letting his thoughts get to him, but he was surprised that he had picked up on it. He loved his friend dearly, but sometimes he was a little too wrapped up in his own world to notice changes in others.

"I've been having visions." Harry says as the candles go out. Niall sits himself down on his bed, waiting for the other to continue. "They're about Liam. They're short visions, but they're frequent. He's engulfed in blackness and he's calling out for help. I'm afraid he's fighting some inner demons as he seems to be extremely conflicted with himself." He pauses twirling his index finger around a loose curl. Harry decides to leave out the visions that include Zayn, not wanting to stress the boy out even more. "Dangerous conflicts. And I'm afraid his inner demons might be very real."

Niall frowns at the mention of Liam. Liam had lived in the West Kingdom before his father had passed away. While Niall was never close to him, he knew that Liam had been close friends with Harry. It's not that Niall never tried to get close with him; it was the opposite actually. Niall had tried on several different occasions to befriend Liam whenever the opportunity was presented. Liam was just very distant and shied away from Niall whenever he tried. Not to mention that he seemed to have a mountain of problems surrounding his life that Niall could never keep up with. He wasn't entirely sure how Harry was able to keep up with everything that was going on in his life.

Harry never made it easier for Niall anyways. Niall had heard Harry tease Liam a few different times on his inability to start a conversation with him. Harry's constant teasing of Liam was part of the reason Niall wanted to become friends with Liam, just so Harry would give him a break. Niall knew that Harry meant no harm, but sometimes he swore it got to Liam more than he let on. Niall wasn't sure if Liam was just too shy to speak with Niall or if he actually disliked him. He hadn't stuck around long enough for him to ask, so he doesn't let it bother him too much. But if Niall was sure of one thing, it was that Harry's personality completely changed with the disappearance of Liam. It was then that Harry found his teasing as a possible reason for him leaving, and that freaked him out. Harry tried not to let people in on his insecurities, but Niall noticed how he was far less playful and sarcastic as he was before. He kept teasing to a minimum and tried to keep things strictly professional.

Harry's eyebrows furrow as he swims in his thoughts, a long sigh leaving his lips after. "I just need to know if he's okay. I will go to the ends of the world to make sure that he's safe. I just... I just..."

"What are you thinking?" Niall asks as he moves to sit on the floor next to Harry. He gently gathers his hands in his smaller ones, holding onto them tightly. "Like you said yourself it's not healthy to keep things bottled in."

"I will never forgive myself is something happens to him because of me. I want to know if he left because of me or because of something that's much bigger." Harry closes his eyes once again as he thinks of Zayn in his visions. Why was Zayn in his visions with Liam? Had he captured him? Was he hurting him? Did he make Liam a prisoner? If Zayn were to even lay a finger on Liam Harry swears-

His thoughts are cut off from a lantern on his nightstand bursting, the glass scattering on the piece of furniture. Niall only squeezes his hands tighter. He's never seen Harry as much as lose control of his powers, so he knew his visions must have been serious. "Is there something you're not telling me about these dreams, Harry?" He asks gently. "I've never seen you like this. What is making you think that Liam is in such danger?" Harry thinks for a moment before shaking his head. There was no way that he would stress Niall out about Zayn.

"Who knows," Niall starts gently. "Maybe he's in the North Kingdom with Prince Philip. Maybe he's in the South Kingdom with King Edward."

 _What if he's in the East Kingdom with Zayn?_ It's a thought that briefly runs across Harry's mind, though he keeps his mouth shut. Harry was overthinking now and he needed to go back to mediation before he exploded something else in his room. "I suppose you could be right about that." He says to put Niall at some ease. He brings his gaze to him, smiling warmly. Niall feels his cheeks heating up under his gaze, remembering that he was still holding onto Harry's hands. Niall loved these moments with him more than anything. When they were like this it was like they could read each other's thoughts. They just stayed like that, staring at each other without a care in the world before Niall's mother had started calling for them.

"We should probably go see what she wants." Harry says softly before getting up from his spot on the floor. Niall nods his head as he sits up as well, his cheeks flushed.

"Yeah, right. We should go see." Niall snorts quietly before getting up as well and hurrying out of the room, Harry right behind him.


	5. Monster

"Father, I don't want to do this." A timid and frightened boy squeaks out. "I want to go back outside and play with my new best friend." He whispers out as his father stares down at him, the small child gathering the courage to look his father in the eyes. "Did you know that I have a new best friend? His name is Louis. He's really nice. He says his family is from the South Kingdom, isn't that cool?"

"You don't need friends, Zayn. You only need allies." His father says with a stern look, causing Zayn to quickly break eye contact and look away. His pleads fall onto deaf ears, his father grabbing hold of his arm and ushering him towards the back of the castle.

"Why can't you do this to someone else? There are plenty of people in the village you can pick." Zayn says quickly as he's led into a dark and strange room.

"Because once I die you become the next King. It's important this happens to you and not someone else." He says as he lifts him up, sitting him on a wooden table. "Lay down." He orders as a few men wearing white coats hurry into the room.

"Don't be frightened. We are going to make you so much stronger than anyone else." His father says darkly as one of the men straps him into the table. "You will be so unique. A masterpiece. No one will take power from this kingdom once we're done with you."

"But mother says I'm already unique." Zayn says as he tries to sit up, one of the men forcing him back down. "What are they going to do? What are you doing? Don't touch me! Don't you know who I am? I'm the prince of the East!" Zayn shouts as he tries to wiggle out of the thick straps. "Father! Tell them to let me go!" He yells as he starts to panic, looking around with wide eyes.

"You're too caring for a prince, Zayn! We have to fix it and make you stronger. You can't be a good ruler if you care about everyone. You have to destroy. Kill, even." His father says as he tightens the straps before one of the men in the white coats pushes a tray over that's filled with tools and equipment that look absolutely terrifying to Zayn.

"What are you going to do to me?" Zayn asks hoarsely, his voice cracking as one of the men pull out a syringe.

"We're going to turn you into the ultimate solider. Half human, half android. You won't need feelings or friends anymore, Zayn. A one-man army. Now quiet down and be a good boy." His father says before injecting him with the syringe.

\---

Zayn yells as he jolts awake in the middle of the night, hair sticking down from sweat. He runs a hand over his face, his chest heaving as he breathes heavily. He sighs quietly as he throws his sheets off of him, getting out of bed. He must have had another nightmare about his past. They were starting to become more and more frequent. He looks over when his door is suddenly opened, Liam hurrying into his bedroom.

"Are you alright? I thought someone had broken in." Liam says as he looks around Zayn's room before making sure that Zayn wasn't injured. Zayn just shakes his head in response as he levels out his breathing. He didn't like it when people saw him like this.

"Just had an unpleasant dream. Fresh air is all I need. You're dismissed, Liam." He mumbles as he slips on shoes, raising an eyebrow when noticing that Liam was still there. "I said you're dismissed now."

"I think I should go with you. You know, to make sure that you're okay. We can have a conversation to keep your mind off things." Liam offers as he follows Zayn out of his bedroom. Zayn didn't feel like bickering with Liam so late at night, and he knew that he would just follow him regardless so he decided to just stay quiet.

"We're going to walk around the forest." Zayn says after a few minutes of silence as they exit the castle. "I go there to think on nights like these." He mumbles as Liam trails after him. Liam was surprised that Zayn was actually letting him tag along, especially when it came to him having night terrors. He found this a good opportunity to possibly bond with him.

"What was your dream about?" Liam asks to break the silence.

"None of your fucking business." Zayn snaps as he turns to face Liam, glistening under the moonlight. Even though Liam was sure he was about to eat him alive, he still couldn't help but be taken back by his beauty. His hair was a dark black that was styled by running his hands through it to keep his hair in place. His eyes were beautiful to Liam, though they scared many others. His left eye was it's normal hazel color, while the right eye's iris was red and the sclera, otherwise known as the white part, was completely black.

Zayn's eyes narrowed as he glared at the taller male when he didn't get the reaction or response he wanted. Even though Zayn was shorter he still intimidated the other man to no end. "If you want to come with me, I'm going to need you to shut the fuck up." Liam just nods in response, visibly paler than he was just a moment ago.

"Sure. I'm- that's fine. It's fine. I can do that." Liam says quickly. Zayn stares at him for a moment longer before turning back around and heading off towards the forest.

"Then do it. And hurry up while you're at it. I'm not going to slow my pace if you're going to walk like my deceased grandmother." Zayn shouts. The two of them continue walking in silence for the next thirty minutes, Zayn only slowing to a stop when they've reached their destination.

Zayn hums softly as he goes over to the bank of a river, sitting down in the grass. "Do you get them a lot?" Liam asks quietly as he sits down next to him, making sure there was enough space between the two of them.

"Occasionally." Zayn says as he plays with a blade of grass in his hands. "Just the casual bad dream that everyone gets from time to time. It's nothing to fret over, Liam." He says a bit harshly. Liam just nods, dropping the subject.

"You come here a lot to think?"

"Occasionally, Liam." Liam could tell that he was starting to get on Zayn's nerves again. He stays quiet, looking around at his surroundings instead. Tall trees were surrounding them completely, giving Liam a feeling similar to isolation. The trees around them were covered in pink blossoming flowers that also covered a majority of the ground. The river was a sparkling clear blue that reflected the night sky and trees that were directly above it. The sky was a mix of dark blues and purples with stars placed in every direction, glowing so bright that Liam was sure that the moon didn't even need to be out for him to see.

"It's beautiful here. Does Louis know about this place?" Liam asks as he leans back with his hands, looking over at Zayn.

"No. I haven't brought anyone here before. I'm sure others have been here though." Zayn mumbles. His eyebrow raises when seeing Liam's flustered state. "You aren't anything special. I only brought you here because you were being persistent. Don't think that I like you."

Ouch. "Of course not." Liam says as he clears his throat afterwards. Liam purses his lips slightly before briefly looking around his surroundings again. Zayn was staring intensely at the blades of grass in his hands, clearly not in the mood to talk much, so Liam took this as an opportunity to do the talking instead even though he had been continuously shot down every time he tried. "You know, I used to get night terrors a lot when I was younger." Liam says after a few moments of silence pass. Zayn barely acknowledges that Liam even spoke; just a quiet grunt to show that he had at least heard what he said.

"Um, yeah. My father told me I would wake up screaming. Nearly woke up the whole village sometimes." Liam says sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "They would be about everything and anything. Sometimes they were about my relatives and friends dying, sometimes my parents abandoning me, and sometimes they were just about people I didn't know hurting me. Sometimes my dreams were about me hurting other people." He mumbles quietly as he glances down at his hands. He outgrew his nightmares, however he still had dreams of hurting people on accident every now and then.

"I don't remember asking you to open up to me or to try and relate to me." Zayn interrupts abruptly.

"Anyways," Liam continues, rolling his eyes. "My parents became ill and ended up passing, which only made my night terrors worse. Instead of weekly, I ended up getting them every other night and then every night. My best friend would talk me out of them and usually let me sleep over at his house. When I realized that I had someone there for me they started happening less and less." Liam pauses for a moment, sighing when seeing Zayn's raised eyebrow. "Look, I'm just saying that I'm here to listen if you ever need to talk about your night terrors. Surprisingly, talking about them makes them happen less. I know. Shocker." Liam says flatly before getting up. "Come on, we need to head back soon. Louis will have an actual heart attack if he wakes up and you're not in your bed." Liam snorts as Zayn eyes him cautiously, though he gets up nonetheless.

"I don't have them often." Zayn says as he starts to head back with Liam.

"Oh, sure. It's probably just someone else I hear panicking every other night in their room." Zayn freezes slightly before shaking his head, quickening his pace as Liam trails behind him.


	6. The North Kingdom Awaits

"Are you mad?" Niall shouts as he watches Harry quickly packing his and Niall's things. "Mother, you can't be serious. Harry, put the bloody clothes down!" Niall snaps before ripping one of this shirts from Harry's hands.

"I know you aren't happy about this, dear; you can't stay here anymore though." The Queen says, her hands clasped together tightly.

"You can't just kick the prince out of his own kingdom! Out of his own _castle_!" Niall practically screams, his eyes wide as he stares at his mother. "I haven't even done anything wrong! And neither has Harry. You can't kick him out either!"

"You haven't done anything wrong. You're absolutely right, honey." His mother says gently. "But it's too dangerous for you here."

"So you called Harry and I down to tell us that we're being kicked out and then sent us to pack? And you're actually packing?" Niall asks as he looks over at Harry who's quietly folding his and Niall's clothes. "Harry, stop fucking packing! Besides, can't you just use your magic to fold your clothes?" Niall mumbles before pulling the clothes away from him. "You're kicking us out with no evidence of me being in danger. Sending me to another kingdom is hardly safe. What if someone attacks us on the way? This is insane. You're all bloody mad." Niall mumbles as he throws the bag down onto his bed.

"One of our guards have told me that Zayn plans on kidnapping you! He's apparently already sent someone out to try once! Even the village's fortune teller is saying you're in danger!"

"Is he on shrooms? Because no one has tried kidnapping me." Niall laughs out in disbelief. "And don't fret over some fortune teller. Half of them are full of it anyways."

"Niall, don't speak to the Queen like that." Harry says gently before muttering an apology on Niall's behalf. "And fortune tellers are great people."

"A black cat got into your room by climbing through the window, Niall." His mother says sternly. "That was the work of Zayn. Cats can't get into your room by the window. It's too high up!"

"Harry, you said you wouldn't tell her about the black cat. I told you she would freak out. Now we're being kicked out. Do you see what I mean?" Niall snaps as he turns to look at Harry. Harry's eyes widen as he raises his hands to defend himself.

"I didn't tell her about it!"

"Harry didn't tell me anything, love. I'm not a fool. You honestly think I believed you when you told me you had cut your cheek from working in the garden? You haven't worked on the garden in years. On top of that, another guard had informed me about seeing a black cat darting down one of our halls." She says as she tucks some of her blonde hair behind her ear. "Zayn has brilliant men working for him." 

"Okay, good for Zayn." Niall mumbles as he goes over to the bag he previously threw, unfolding all the clothes Harry had just neatly folded.

"One is a shapeshifter. He can shift into black cats. Zayn knew when you would have your guard down and sent him to come at a time when you would be sleeping. This is very serious, Niall." Harry freezes in his spot from the Queen's words. It was all starting to make sense now. How did the cat get into his room? And that cat did have an aura surrounding it that was hardly normal for a cat. "You need to leave before Zayn sends out his people again. I'm sending Harry with you so you'll have protection. And I'll be having knights escort you to the North Kingdom. You will be staying with Prince Philip and his personal guard, Daniel."

"I've heard that the North Kingdom is lovely this time of year." Harry says as he snaps his fingers, the unfolded clothes immediately refolding themselves.

"You're trying to tell me that the black cat in my room was actually a man out to kill me? And you expect me to believe that because...?" Niall asks as he crosses his arms over his chest, a skeptical gaze on his mother. "And why are you so okay with this, Harry?" Niall shrieks as he turns to look at Harry, grabbing the clothing from him again. "Would you at least pretend you're upset?"

Harry's head immediately snaps in Niall's direction. "I'm not okay with this. The idea that Zayn somehow managed to sneak one of his men in here without me detecting it is extremely upsetting. I knew that cat was different. I could practically smell's its bad intentions." Harry sighs as he fidgets with one of the many rings that were on his hands.

"Oh, Christ." Niall groans quietly when hearing Harry. "Don't tell me you're buying what my mother is saying, Haz. I thought you were better than this." He says as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"I don't see what's so impossible about this situation." Harry says as he watches the clothes float into the bag neatly. "I should have trusted my gut." The Queen sighs gently when seeing Harry beating himself up.

"Harry is a witch. Zayn is a walking piece of killing metal. And Harry's old friend nearly burnt down the town square with his own hands." Harry flinches at the memory of Liam losing control of his 'abilities.' "However, suddenly a shapeshifter is the unbelievable thing? For Christ sake, Prince Philip can control plants and the wildlife." The Queen says flatly as she pinches the bridge of her nose.

"I'm feeling very cheated that I am somehow the only normal one in this mix." Niall says as he sits down on his bed slowly. "So what now?"

"I told you. You're going with Harry to the North Kingdom. You'll be staying there until further notice. The East Kingdom isn't allowed anywhere near the North since they aren't allies. You'll be the safest there I'm afraid."

\------

"That's everything I believe." Harry says as he stares down at two bags filled with personal belongings and clothing. "You okay?" Harry asks as he looks over at Niall, offering a reassuring smile.

"I'm okay. I just feel bad about getting you dragged into all of this. I mean it's one thing that I'm having to relocate, but it's another thing that you're having to leave your home behind as well." Niall sighs before collapsing onto his bed. "I'm going to miss my beautiful bed so much." Niall whines into his pillows loudly.

"It's okay, I don't really mind. It hasn't felt like home much since Liam left, and I practically live here than I do my actual home. My father understands. Well, he has to understand. The Queen already had him notified that I was going away with you, though I'm sure she didn't tell him where we were going."

"This whole thing is really such a mess, isn't it?" Niall snorts, Harry nodding his head in reply. "Do you think that black cat was really a person sent by Zayn?" Niall asks after a moment of silence.

"I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be too surprised if it had been a person. He's always been a wild card. It's for the best that we leave. You could use some time away from home anyway." Harry says. If he were being honest, he did know that Zayn sent the cat, but he knew Niall wouldn't believe him regardless so he didn't feel like wasting his energy. "Let's go." He says softly as he lifts his hand, the bags lifting off the bed and hovering after them as the two leave the room.

"You're all set to go?" The Queen asks when seeing Niall and Harry with their bags. "Very well." She says softly when they nod their heads. "This way. I'll walk with you to the carriage. There will be one guard with the two of you and a carriage behind you that has more guards in it." She explains to Harry and Niall as they walk out of the castle and down a garden path. "Don't write me any letters, Niall. I'm too afraid of someone finding and tracking them back to you." She says gently as they stop in front of the carriage. "Be careful, alright? Harry, look after him."

"Of course. I won't let anything hurt him." Harry says with a warm smile. "We'll be back before you even know it." He says reassuringly to both Niall and his mother.

\------

Niall sighs as he stares out the carriage window, pursing his lips before looking over at Harry. "How much longer until we're there?" He asks as he picks at his fingernail.

"We left two days ago. We should be there in...four or five days? The North Kingdom isn't exactly close. That's probably why the Queen picked it."

"I mean, our only other options were the South and East. No offense, but the South can barely take care of itself and is still under the East's rule, and we're trying to get away from the East so..."

"You hold a good argument there." Harry snorts quietly as he glances outside his window. "I know you're bored. Just hang in there, okay?"

"I hope Prince Philip has the biggest feast prepared for us by the time we get there. I'm tired of this packed bullshit snacks they've been feeding us. Jesus, I feel like a caged animal." Niall mumbles before looking over at the guard sitting next to him. "Next time would you tell my mother to pack something edible? You think she would want us dead with this." Niall says as he leans over and goes through his bag, tossing some bread to Harry. "I'm tired of chocolate and I'm tired of bread."

"I can tell. And you ate all the apples and grapes. That was supposed to last us the entire trip." Harry huffs before taking a bite out of the bread. "And I quite like the bread. The Queen has good taste when it comes to food. Besides, we still have some strawberries you can eat." Harry says, bouncing slightly as the carriage drives over some gravel and small rocks.

Niall leans back against his seat as he stares out the window, a small frown on his lips. The area they were in wasn't exactly the safest. They were driving through a forest with trees that looked creepy to Niall. This would be the place to get attacked by a gang of bandits. He hoped they wouldn't have to be here for too long; he wasn't sure if his mother had planned for an attack on the way to the North Kingdom.

"Relax. Get some sleep. We'll be there soon enough." Harry says gently when noticing the concern in Niall's eyes. Niall wasn't sure if he was tired before Harry had said anything, but he was aware of it now. His eyes were heavy with sleep, practically begging to be shut. Maybe Harry just secretly charmed him into getting sleepy. He made a mental note to ask him about it later.

"Alright. Wake me when we get there." Niall mumbles as he attempts to get comfortable in his seat.

"I doubt you'll sleep for the next five days, but I'll wake you when we get there." Harry snorts to himself as Niall dozes off across from him.

Harry watches as Niall sleeps soundly, wondering how on earth that boy could sleep peacefully in such a cramped space. Deep down Harry wasn't sure if moving to the North Kingdom would be a good idea. His visions were getting more intense with each passing night, though Harry couldn't exactly pin that on anything in particular. The whole situation was just making him uneasy. Along with that, Harry was very overdue for meditation, but he would be lucky if he could even concentrate for two minutes when cramped in a carriage with a nervous young prince and an annoyed guard.

Harry stares down at his most prized ring. The ring was a large purple amethyst stone that sat on his middle finger. The stone was held in place by a silver band that represented the claws of a bird. Amethyst stones bring calm, balance, and peace, and works emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Harry was big on amethyst stones and tried to carry one with him wherever he went.

He gently runs his fingers over the ring, letting out a deep breath as he tries to calm down his mind. Every part of his body was screaming that going to the North would not end well, but he was trying his best to silence those thoughts. He had a feeling that everything he's been seeing and feeling would be leading up to this moment.

"Please don't let me be right." Harry whispers as he glances over at Niall. "Please just let this pass over peacefully." Although deep down he knew that a witch's instinct was almost always correct.

\------

Niall was bouncing with excitement. Literally. He wasn't sure if it was due to the fact of never traveling outside of his own kingdom or because he spent the last six some days cooped up in a carriage with Harry, but Niall was over the moon about finally arriving at the North Kingdom.

"Niall, please. You're shaking the carriage. We're gonna pop off one of our wheels." Harry mumbles as the carriage drives through the line of knights leading into the kingdom.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so excited. You aren't happy about finally getting out of the carriage for more than a wee?" Niall asks, his head practically sticking out the window.

"I'm very excited." Harry says flatly. "Now calm down. You can last a few more minutes." Niall rolls his eyes as he tunes Harry out, staring in awe as he looks around as the carriage stops at a giant pair of gates.

"Wow. Even their gates are beautiful. Are they richer than us?" Niall asks Harry as he briefly sits back down, only to stick his head back out once the gates open.

"Not that I'm aware of." Harry mumbles as Niall continues to drool over the gates. The gates were black and tall, taller than Niall has ever seen, and had flowers and vines practically covering the gates. He was going to harass his mother about getting gates like these once he returned home.

The kingdom itself was beautiful. Niall had never seen grass so green, and the trees looked healthier than any other tree he's seen in his life. The homes were well kept with beautiful plants growing from the yards and the people looked just as lovely. Niall was kind of glad that he was going to be staying here now.

"Stop gawking. It's time to get out." Harry says, pulling Niall back from the window. "The carriage has been stopped for a couple of minutes now. You're making us look awkward." Harry huffs.

"O-Oh, okay. I didn't even notice." Niall mumbles before climbing out of the carriage with Harry.

"Prince Niall!" Niall immediately turns towards the direction of the voice, a bright smile spreading across his lips when seeing the source of the voice.

"Prince Philip. Your kingdom is absolutely stunning." Niall gushes as Harry pulls the bags out of the carriage.

"Oh, thank you. That's so nice to hear. We really care about the kingdom here. I think that if you treat your kingdom well that it shows." The prince says with a smile.

Harry purses his lips when seeing that Niall practically flocked over to Philip the moment he stepped out of the carriage. "No, I don't need help. Thank you for asking though." Harry grumbles as he carries the bags over to the chatty pair.

"Oh, I didn't think you needed help. There were only two bags. Besides, can't you just use your magic or something?" Niall says dumbly as Philip gasps.

"I'm so sorry about that. I'll have my guard help you." He says with a warm smile. There's an awkward silence between the three as the guards take the bags from Harry. Philip clears his throat before smiling brightly. "It's so lovely to finally meet you, Prince Niall. And you must be Harry, correct?" He asks before extending his hand out for Harry.

"It's lovely to meet you as well, and you would be correct, Prince Philip." Harry mumbles as he gently shakes his hand.

"You guys can feel free to call me Phil, please. And this guy right here, is my guard Daniel. You guys can just call him Dan though." Phil says as he looks over at Dan who was standing a few feet away from them.

"Oh wow, I didn't even notice he was there." Niall mumbles as Harry nudges him.

"Don't be rude." Harry says quietly as Phil leads them into the castle.

"As you're aware, you'll be staying with us for an indefinite amount of time. We have a feast in preparation for your arrival and it should be ready shortly. Dan will give you a tour of the castle and then you two can unpack, clean yourselves up, relax, and then you can come down for supper." Phil says happily before turning to Dan. "Will you show them around?" Dan looks about as pleased as Harry, but agrees nonetheless.

"Alright, let's go." Dan mumbles before heading down the hall without warning the pair. Niall just blinks before exchanging looks with Harry, Phil sighing.

"Dan, remember what we talked about."

"Right, right. Friendly and happy. I love our guests." Dan says with a forced smile. "Come on, I'll show you around." Dan says before walking again, Niall and Harry trailing a few feet behind him.

"Chipper one, ain't he?" Niall whispers to Harry, only getting a quiet snort in response. "Cool, great. Already loving it." Niall mumbles before sighing softly. It was going to be a long stay.


	7. Pies & Pastries

Niall yawns loudly as he flops onto his bed, stretching loudly and turning over to look at Harry who was sitting on his bed that's next to his. "I don't think I'll be able to eat for an entire week. I didn't think it possible for so much food to be on one table." Niall grumbles before burying his face in his small stack of pillows.

"It was definitely a lot of food. It was a nice change of pace considering the food we had to eat the last six days." Harry says.

"Their castle is nicer than ours." Niall says after a few minutes of silence and sits up, strands of hair already sticking out in different directions. "This room alone is two times bigger than my own bedroom. Not to mention the pillows feel like actual clouds. _Clouds_ , Harry! I don't mind not returning home if this is what I get to look forward to." Niall picks up one of the pillows, placing it on his lap. "Actual cloud."

Harry just laughs quietly in response, shaking his head. "If you say so."

"You know," Niall starts, looking over at Harry. "I used to think that you were stuck up my ass all the time," Harry throws a disgusted and offended look his way, "but I don't think I've seen Phil without Dan glued to his side today." He snorts quietly.

"What did you expect? Daniel is Philip's guard. It's his job to be around him all the time."

"We can call them Dan and Phil, you know." Niall says with a raised eyebrow. "It feels too formal with Daniel and Philip."

"It should feel formal. You're addressing the prince of the kingdom, and I don't think Daniel wants us calling him Dan. I'm pretty sure Philip just forced him to say that so we'd feel more comfortable." Harry snorts as he lays down. Niall just shrugs in response, lying back down as well.

"This huge castle and yet we're still stuck sharing a room." Niall huffs as he pulls the white silky bed sheets over him. "Can you believe that?"

"I know. It was hard sleeping over your loud ass snoring when I was down the hall, so I mean, how will I sleep now?" Harry asks with a grin, Niall lazily throwing one of his pillows at him.

"I do not snore." Niall huffs as Harry reaches over to turn off the lantern.

"Sure. Goodnight, Niall."

"Goodnight, asshole."

\------

"Hey, what's going on?" Liam asks as he jogs up to Louis, freezing briefly when hearing glass shatter and Zayn yelling down the hall.

"Apparently, our golden ticket to staying alive has disappeared." Louis says and flinches when hearing more objects crash onto the floor from Zayn's bedroom. Liam's eyes immediately widen at hearing his words.

"Wait, seriously? Niall has disappeared? When did you find out? Is he okay?"

"I flew over this morning to map out the kingdom and plan a strategy for us." Louis says, pursing his lips in thought as he thinks back to the morning. "Once I flew into the castle by using an open window I found out that Niall and his bodyguard were both gone. I overheard the Queen talking about it with other guards. Sent them to the North apparently." Louis sighs. "Zayn's fine; he just needs some time to cool down. He always overreacts the moment he finds things out. It's just a Zayn thing." Liam pauses slightly, his cheeks becoming flushed. In reality he was asking if Niall was okay, but he thought best to let Louis think that he was actually asking about Zayn.

Liam nods his head as he listens to Louis as he runs a hand through his hair. Liam would never say this out loud, but deep down he was relieved that Niall and Harry had managed to escape before he and Louis could be sent back to attack them. "So we just give up now?" Liam asks, feeling giddy that he might not have to confront the pair after all. "We could just take over the West now that they're gone. And with the Queen alone, it would be much easier. So, there's no need to get Niall now, right?"

Louis pinches the bridge of his nose as he listens to Liam ramble on. Did he really just ask if they were going to give up? This boy was surely living in a fairy-tale. "No, Liam. Zayn is not the type to give up. You do realize that this is Zayn we're talking about, right?" Louis runs his hands over his face, cutting Liam off before he gets the chance to ramble again. "I understand that Niall and his guard are special to you, but you have Zayn and I and you can't be conflicted about this stuff anymore."

"You're right, you're right. I'm sorry, Louis." Liam says gently before sighing softly.

"They didn't even treat you right. From what you've told me, that stupid body guard walked all over you and Niall didn't even acknowledge you. Zayn and I acknowledge you and even if he doesn't act like it, he does like you. He wants you here. You're one of us now." Louis says with a smile before tugging Liam into a tight hug. Liam stumbles back caught off guard, though wraps his arms around Louis' smaller frame. Louis buries his face in the crook of Liam's neck, sighing softly before pulling away a moment later. "You're like family to us, Liam. We need you, okay? We're a big happy, morbid, disturbed family whose main goal is to kidnap a teenage prince." Louis grins widely as Liam laughs from his sentence before the two jump when hearing more glass shatter.

"So, are we going to raid the West Kingdom and go to the North Kingdom and capture Niall?" Liam asks when he hears Zayn start yelling again.

"Yes and yes. I've already started coming up with a plan for when Zayn finally calms down from his tantrum. We're going to be heading to the North Kingdom first before doing anything directly to the West. If we attack the West Kingdom first, word will get out and the North Kingdom will know of the news within a day or two. We must be strategic about this if we want to capture Niall. I'm thinking we capture Niall first, and then we attack the West once we bring him to Zayn. We won't be the ones attacking the West, Zayn will be sending out his military for that. Our job is just to bring him Niall. Do you understand what I'm saying, Liam?"

"Of course, yeah. I understand. How will we blend in in the North Kingdom though?"

"We get jobs, change our clothes...those kinds of things. We'll make ourselves look like working peasants of the kingdom so we don't draw suspicion. We can figure out the rest once Zayn is calm." Louis chuckles quietly. Liam just nods his head in response, his stomach in knots over the thought of being in the same kingdom with Niall and Harry again.

"We should go check on Zayn now." Liam mumbles when the shattering of objects seems to go down in the background.

"Alright." Louis hums before walking down the hall with Liam.

\------

"So, um, why didn't Phil want to show us around the kingdom himself?" Niall asks Dan as he and Harry walk through the busy streets of the kingdom.

"That's Prince Philip to you, and because he had more important matters to tend to. The kingdom isn't huge, so this won't take long. It's important to him that you guys are shown around your temporary home." Dan replies.

"Is it always this busy here?" Harry asks when he nearly bumps into a peasant, inching closer to Niall.

"We're in the Village Square right now; that's why it's so busy here. The rest of the village isn't like this. Prince Philip gave me a specific list of places he wanted me to show you, and the Village Square was on the top of it. You might find this place useful as there's merchants, markets, and shops set up here." Dan says, though Niall has tuned him out at this point. Niall felt like a small child standing in the middle of a candy store as he was surrounded by things that he wanted to try in that exact moment. Everywhere Niall turned there was street food he wanted to try, jewelry he wanted to buy, and clothes he wanted to try on.

"We can come here whenever?" Niall asks, excitement bubbling up inside of him.

"Of course." Dan says as he starts walking down the street, Harry having to practically drag Niall along. "We can stay here for a bit longer if you want, or we can move on to the next thing." Dan says when seeing Niall trying to move away from Harry and instead go towards a food stand. "Mind you, the food will still be here by the time we get back. You did just eat breakfast, Niall."

"Niall, Jesus Christ." Harry mumbles as he lifts his hand, a soft golden orb forming as Niall is yanked back towards Harry. "We'll go see the other things you have on the list. We don't want to keep you from doing important things. I can take Niall back here later." Harry says, sighing when seeing Niall practically drooling over baked pies and pastries. Dan stares at Niall and Harry with an unimpressed face before rolling his eyes and turning back around.

"Sorry." Niall says sheepishly as Harry drags him along. "Pies and pastries are my weakness. And don't use your gross magic on me."

"All food is your weakness." Harry snaps though Niall chuckles quietly.

"Our Village Square is the liveliest part of the kingdom besides our gardens. You'll see that the villagers are also friendly and would give you the clothes off their backs and..." Dan finally gives up when seeing that Niall is back off to drooling over another booth selling cooked fruits and vegetables. "If you want," Dan starts, trying to keep himself from sounding too annoyed. "I can wrap this up tomorrow and the two of you can spend the rest of the evening in the Village Square."

"Oh, you really don't have to." Harry says, though he senses Dan's annoyance.

"Really? That would be great! Thanks, Dan!" Niall chirps happily before dragging Harry off to one of the booths. "You'll pay, Harry."

"It's Daniel." Dan mumbles in annoyance while listening to the two bicker about who would be paying for the food. He just rolls his eyes one more time before heading back towards the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I really love Dan's general annoyance for everyone and everything. I find it a little too relatable.   
> I also like how Harry could easily dodge the objects that Niall throws at him by using his magic, yet he choices not to and almost always gets hit. True friendship.  
> Anyways, hoped you guys like it and like always, I'll see you in the next chapter.   
> -B


	8. A Servant and a Chef

Liam looks around the large room he's seated in, glancing over at Louis who was sitting next to him. Zayn had specifically instructed Louis and Liam to meet him in the castle's main room to go over the plans for Niall and the North Kingdom. Even though it was only the dining room, it was Zayn's favorite to gather in as it was one of the largest in the castle. Liam would never admit, but the room somewhat intimidated him. The floors were made of a dark chestnut colored wood while the walls were painted a blood red with candles placed around that kept the room dim. Liam was never keen on red, although unsurprisingly it seemed to be one of Zayn's favorite colors as many of the rooms had a red coloring on the walls. Portraits of Zayn alone and with his mother littered the walls, although Zayn had destroyed most of the portraits that were of his father.

Liam's attention lands on the archway when Zayn gracefully strides in, Liam feeling like the wind was knocked out of him. While Liam is extremely panic stricken by Zayn, there was always something about him that was elegant and made it difficult for him not to stare.

Zayn stares at the two of them with a hard gaze as he sits down in his seat across from them, his lips pressed together. Liam keeps his gaze on Zayn shamelessly, his eyes grazing over his facial features as he makes a mental note of the dark bags that were under his eyes. He must have stayed up again from nightmares. Zayn clears his throat when catching Liam, rolling his eyes afterwards before leaning back in his seat, Liam doing a double take when seeing Zayn's cheeks flush. "I called you guys in today so we could go over what I came up with for the two of you." Zayn says as he looks between Louis and Liam. The pair just nod their heads, silently encouraging him to continue. "I've come up with a way for the two of you to blend into the North Kingdom. Once the two of you get there, Louis is going to be a servant of Prince Philip."

"A servant?" Louis scoffs. "Do you take me for someone who cleans up after people?"

"Yes, I do." Zayn deadpans as Louis pulls an overly dramatic and offended facial expression. Liam snorts quietly as he tries to keep himself from laughing when seeing the look on Louis' face. Louis just shakes his head, clearly frustrated with Zayn, though he knew better than to argue with him. "No one is going to be suspicious of you when you're a hard worker. The North Kingdom practically worships the villagers who work. Besides, no one is going to think you're with me when you're working for their prince." As much as Louis hated it, Zayn did have a point. This was going to be the best way for Louis to stay low in the North Kingdom while trying to get to Niall. "And what are you even on about, Louis? You love cleaning."

"I like to clean but not as a job! I'd be doing that all day." Louis shrieks with wide eyes. "I like making sure things are nice and neat. A castle is huge, Zayn. And people treat servants like shit. I swear if one of them even looks at me the wrong way-"

"Now, Liam." Zayn interrupts, Liam immediately looking away from Louis and at him. "You're going to work as their chef. I want the two of you in the same area, but not right next to each other." Louis nods his head as he listens. Liam froze, panic bubbling up within him for two reasons. One reason was that he has never cooked anything royal in his life, however the major reason was that he'd be in the same castle as Niall and Harry. They'd recognize him and Liam's world would come crumbling down around him. It was one thing hiding out in the same kingdom as the pair, but hiding in the same castle and cooking and serving them their meals? That was getting to be too much for Liam to handle.

"Liam gets to bake fancy suppers while I'm stuck cleaning the whole damn castle?" Louis asks, his eyebrows furrowed before huffing quietly. "So not fair." Liam shoots him a pleading look, though if Louis caught on he didn't show it. "You know, you can just tell me that you like Liam more." He says, a grin forming on his face when seeing Liam's cheeks growing red and Zayn quickly clearing his throat.

"Anyways," Zayn sighs as he tries to keep his cheeks from reddening. "All I need the two of you to do is learn and memorize his schedule and patterns. When you're working in the castle, you'll be able to see them nearly half the day, if not all day." Liam's stomach flips at Zayn's words. He could not see Niall and Harry for half a day, or even an entire day. "I already sent out one of my workers to the North Kingdom who's currently spreading around that two new men from the South Kingdom are showing up to work for Prince Philip." He says with a proud smirk.

"Won't Prince Philip know that he didn't hire two men?" Louis asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Prince Philip did hire two men. He hired a new servant and a new chef. I found them and got rid of them without anyone knowing. I'm sending in the two of you in their place. No one is going to know that you aren't the original two men." Zayn grins as a shiver goes down Liam's spine. "The two of you are going to head out tomorrow at dawn. I need the two of you there as soon as possible. I want Niall and I'm going to have him. You're dismissed." Zayn says as he leans back in his chair.

Louis and Liam immediately get up and scurry out of the room, Liam's heart pounding in his chest. As soon as they're away from listening ears Liam immediately breaks out into panic. "Louis, I can't work in the castle. How am I going to serve Niall and his bodyguard food when they know what I look like?" Liam practically shrieks as he grips onto Louis' shirt, tugging him closer. Louis' eyes widen as he's suddenly yanked forward by Liam, gently trying to calm him down.

"You're a chef, Liam. You're going to stay in the kitchen for most of the day and Prince Niall probably won't be allowed back there." Louis explains as he tries to loosen Liam's grip. "You're going to rip apart my shirt there, buddy."

"But that doesn't help me when I serve them their fucking meals!" Liam shouts as he pushes him away, causing Louis to stumble back. "I have no idea what I'm going to do. Our cover could get blown if they see me, especially since we're apparently from the fucking South Kingdom now. I mean, you're from the South Kingdom but I'm not and they'll know that!" Liam rambles as he runs a hand over his face. "It's not like they won't recognize me when I was best friends with his bodyguard! Oh, fuck me. I'm so fucked, Louis. I'm going to get us killed. Zayn's going to kill me. Oh, god, what if Zayn finds out? What if Niall and Harry find me, and then they find you because they found me, and then Zayn finds out that they found you and me because of me and-"

A sharp slap to Liam's right cheek cuts him off, his eyes wide as he places a hand over his stinging and now red cheek. "I'm sorry about that, but you need to breathe, mate." Louis says flatly. "We'll get you a disguise or some shit. Change your hair color, change your clothes. I mean, it's been quite a while since you took off. You've probably toned up since then, you probably have a nicer wardrobe, maybe even look manlier." Louis hums as he sees Liam starting to slightly calm down. "I'll make sure that they don't recognize you. I wish you could just shapeshift like me-" Louis immediately pauses before grinning widely. "I have an idea."

"I can't shapeshift." Liam deadpans when seeing Louis' shit eating grin.

"No, I know that. I know someone who works in the village. She's a witch, and she's my sister; she makes rings that change your appearance. It makes you unrecognizable!" Louis rambles excitedly as he throws his hands in the air. "Her name is Charlotte. I can take you over now since Zayn wants us leaving tomorrow morning."

\------

"You swear this will work?" Liam asks as Louis practically drags him up to Lottie's cottage.

"Swear on me life. I've watched her clients put on her stuff. It's like they become a different person. It's so cool." Louis says before stopping at her front door. "You'll get it for free since I'm the one asking her." He snorts before knocking on her door. A minute goes by without an answer, Louis' eyes narrowing before he starts to pound on her door. "Lottie! Open the fucking door!"

"Jesus Christ, Louis." Lottie scowls as the front door swings open, her eyes narrowed. "I was coming. I was just in the middle of cooking. What do you want?" She asks as Louis invites himself in, Liam uttering an apology before following in after him.

"I need you to make a ring for me mate Liam here. Zayn's kinda sending us out on this thing tomorrow and we might end up dying without it." Louis says with a wide smile.

"For someone who might die you sure are smiling pretty big." She scoffs before rolling her eyes. "Whatever, follow me." She hums as she leads them down the hall and into her bedroom. "So, do you want a ring, necklace, bracelet, what?"

"A ring, probably. It's easier to keep it on." Louis says as Liam stays behind him. "He has to look completely unrecognizable. The people we're dealing with have known him since childhood."

"That sounds messy." She says, clearing her throat when Louis shoots her a look. "That won't be difficult." Lottie says as she goes through her rings. It's silent for a few minutes as she continues to dig through her rings, gasping quietly before pulling out a simple black band. "This one will be good for you." She says as she turns around. She holds out the ring for Liam, smiling gently when he takes it.

"So what exactly does this thing do?" Liam asks as he looks at the small black ring closely. "It just looks like a normal ring."

"Well, that's the point. You can't be wearing this really obvious ring, Liam." Louis snorts quietly.

"When you put on the ring, it'll turn you into this completely different person. You'll have a different face, hair, eyes, height, you name it. Even your voice will be slightly different. It lasts until you take it off. Once it's off you go back to your normal appearance until you put it back on."

"Holy shit, that's so cool." Liam mumbles before looking up. "How much do I need to pay you for it?" Louis rolls his eyes at Liam.

Lottie just scoffs at Liam's question as she shakes her head. "It's free, I don't need a payment from you. Just bring it back to me once you guys are back, assuming you won't be needing it anymore then." Liam just nods at this before slipping the ring into his pocket.

"Thanks a lot, Lottie." Liam says before pausing. "Witches, are they able to tell when someone has this on? One of the men we're dealing with is a witch." He says as he rubs his arms nervously. Lottie purses her lips as she thinks over his question.

"Perhaps. If he's an experienced witch, then maybe. They might know something's up based on your aura, but they won't be able to pinpoint it. It's really something they can't tell for sure unless they also make the same kind of equipment." She says as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Does he make this stuff as well?"

"No, not that I'm aware of. I mean, he didn't make this stuff when I knew him. I didn't even know this kind of thing existed so that must be a good sign." Liam mumbles as he pulls out the black ring from his pocket, inspecting it closely on the palm of his hand.

"The goal is to make it as unnoticeable as possible. That means I try to make sure that there's no auras attached so witches don't pick up on it. You should be perfectly fine, Liam." Liam smiles from her comforting words, feeling a lot more at ease.

"Thanks a lot, sis. We have to get going now, see you when I get back, alright?" Louis calls out before grinning widely at Liam once they reached the outside of her cottage. "I told you I'd make it work out. Put it on tomorrow morning after we leave. I'm not sure how Zayn would react to you looking completely different. I'm not certain if he would like it not." Louis says as he starts heading back to the castle with Liam. "Just make sure you keep the ring on at all times; even go to bed with it on. You can't take any chances." Louis lectures as Liam nods his head.

"I guess the next time I'll see you you'll be a whole different person, right?" Louis jokes as he nudges Liam's side. "It's so cool what magic can do, don't you think? I mean, you'll literally be a different person. This is going to be so weird. What if you're hot? What if I get a crush on your new self?" Louis asks with large eyes before laughing loudly when seeing his expression. "It's a possibility. Will you keep the ring forever if you end up being hotter than you are now? I would." He snorts as Liam rolls his eyes.

"I'm done with this conversation now." Liam says flatly. "Thanks, though. I wouldn't have thought of this without you."

"Oh, you know. I'm just trying to keep myself from dying." Louis chuckles as he walks up to the castle. "Get some rest, okay? We're going to be getting up bright and early." Liam inwardly groans at the thought as he reaches the entrance. "Like, go to bed as soon as you reach your room. I mean, pack some clothes and shit first but then go to bed. Don't stay up too late. Zayn will actually murder you if you sleep in late and I don't want to go to the North Kingdom alone." Louis says as he stops, turning to look at him. "Seriously though, please don't stress yourself out over this whole thing. They won't recognize you. Now go rest because I promise you now we'll be meeting up every night to plan everything once we're actually there."

Liam nods his head as he listens to Louis' advice. "I'll quickly pack and then get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow morning, alright?"

"Alright. Goodnight, Liam."

"Goodnight, Louis. See you bright and early." He snorts before heading to his room, chuckling when he hears Louis groaning from behind him.

"Don't remind me how early we're getting dragged out of bed by him."

 


	9. Pedro Perestrello

"Liam, calm down." Louis says in the carriage, sitting across from him. While Liam did look completely unrecognizable, he was still freaking out over the thought of being in the same perimeter of Niall and his bodyguard.

Louis was impressed with himself over how good Liam's disguise was working out. He looked completely unrecognizable. His skin was much tanner than it was before, his eyes were a sparkling green that could change color depending on the light he was in, his hair was jet black, and he had facial hair. His facial hair wasn't any different from what he had before, but he still thought it somehow made a difference. Unfortunately, Liam wasn't feeling as confident as Louis was.

"I can't. I know that they won't be able to tell it's me by looking at me or hearing me talk, but I'm still nervous that they'll know. Especially Harry. He's always been rather observant." He sighs softly, leaning his head back against his seat.

"That's impossible. You don't even have the same voice. Although, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they hit on you. You're pretty hot." Louis says before playfully winking, trying to lighten the mood. Liam just shakes his head before looking out the window. Louis huffs from the lack of response he received from him. "Okay, but had Zayn said you were hot you would have had a completely different reaction." He says before grinning widely when Liam nearly chokes. "We'll be there in two days, that's all." He says as he changes the subject, feeling rather smug with himself.

"I know. Things will probably go smoothly." Liam mumbles, his foot tapping against the floor of the carriage anxiously. "I bet you're faster than these horses. You know, if the two of us just went together we'd probably be there by tonight."

"I'm not your transportation method first off." Louis scoffs. "And there's no way in hell that I would shift into a horse for you. Besides, it would look really weird if the two of us just showed up without a carriage."

"We could just say we ditched it in the forest."

"That's even weirder, Liam."

\------

"Dan, is everything set up for when our new family members arrive?" Phil asks as he watches servants rush around as they prepare the castle for an extra two people.

"They aren't family members, but yes." Dan replies as he rolls his eyes. "One's a chef and the other is just a servant. Hardly what I would call family or even important for that matter."

"Bodyguards aren't far from servants, Dan." Phil deadpans as Dan huffs quietly.

"Bullshit. I make sure you don't die. I also make sure no one kidnaps your ass."

"Language, Howell." Phil says flatly. "Anyone here can be trained to be a bodyguard. Don't get cocky with me." Dan opens his mouth to protest, but Niall and Harry walk into the room which immediately earns Phil's attention.

"Are we interrupting something?" Harry hesitantly asks when noticing the tension.

"Of course not. Dan and I are just making sure that everything in the castle is ready for the new addition of two new family members. We're getting a royal head chef and a new servant. It's been awhile since we've received anyone new, so everyone's buzzing with excitement." Phil says happily as Dan stands behind him, looking completely dead inside.

"We're just buzzing." Dan says flatly. Niall giggles quietly from Dan's lack of enthusiasm, though Phil looks less than amused.

"Dan, you'll be teaching the new servant everything you know." Phil says with a bright smile as he turns to look at him. Dan immediately looks appalled by Phil's order.

"I'm not a servant. I'm a bodyguard. I don't do what servants do." He scoffs. "We have plenty of qualified servants who could teach him!"

"You were a servant before you were a bodyguard. You will mentor him and I don't want to hear any complaints." Dan looks like he wants to say no, though he sighs before nodding his head. Niall knew that if anyone else had made that order to Dan that he would have argued until he was probably fired, but because it was Phil who requested it he didn't fight.

"Thank you, Dan." Phil says happily, beaming a bright smile as he gently pats Dan's cheek before turning his attention back to the two of them. Niall could have sworn Dan's cheeks turned a faint red.

Niall clears his throat awkwardly, feeling like he was intruding. "Uh, you said new staff? When are they arriving?" He asks as he glances over at Harry.

"Tonight. They were sent from the South Kingdom two days ago. I've already made sure that their rooms are prepared. Tomorrow morning they'll start training bright and early. This was so kind of the South Kingdom." Phil says. "I'd love to talk longer, but I need to go check on a few more things. I'll talk to you two tomorrow, alright?" Niall and Harry both just nod before Phil and Dan exit the room.

"I feel like I'm always intruding with them when I walk in." Harry snorts once they were out of distance.

"For real." He mumbles before looking around. They were standing in the main entrance of the castle. It was the first room you walked into when entering the castle. It was the biggest and nicest room he's been in in a while. "Any plans for the day?"

Harry just shakes his head. "We've pretty much eaten all the street food the kingdom has to offer and visited every garden." Niall pouts from Harry's words because it was true. Within the few days they've been here Niall has managed to drag Harry to every single garden and attraction that the North Kingdom had, and Niall ate all the street food by the second day.

"Maybe we can go out and find more street food? I'm kind of hungry." Niall says before grinning. "Please? They have good street food. Do you think the new chef will know how to make some of it?" Niall asks. The thought of having a royal chef that could cook all of Niall's favorite street foods was a pleasing thought.

"If they're from the South Kingdom like Prince Philip said, then I doubt it. They don't have a lot of food over there. There probably isn't much street food for them to even sell there." Harry says with a frown.

"If he's a royal chef then he probably knows how to cook street food." Niall says as he purses his lips in thought. "I mean, he's probably one of the best chefs in the South Kingdom. Why else would they send him?"

"That's true. Well, you can ask him when he comes tonight. I'm sure he'd love to. Anything to please a prince." Harry chuckles quietly. He pauses before frowning slightly. "Do you think the South Kingdom is doing better if they're sending over people to work here?"

"Probably not. If they were doing better than they would probably be keeping their top workers." Niall says after a moment of thought.

"It's just sad what the people over there are going through. I wish the North or West Kingdom would help." Harry says quietly; he always got upset when the South Kingdom was brought up. Not because he was from there or he knew anyone there; Harry was just a very sympathetic person and hated watching the mistreatment of others. As a witch, Harry could often feel the emotions of others and empathize better with people. This could be both a blessing and a curse.

The South Kingdom was a very poor kingdom and has been for several years, long before Niall's father had passed. There was a time when Niall was a small child that all the kingdoms were at war with each other. During that war the East Kingdom, which was ruled by Zayn's father at the time, had invaded the South.

The soldiers burned down villages, destroyed markets and shops, murdered civilians, overthrew and killed the King of the South, and looted them for all the money they had. This left the South extremely weak, and once the war had ended they were unable to recover from the damages. As Niall grew older, the war ended and the South Kingdom was forced to become allies with the East Kingdom as they promised to take care of them and protect them from potential threats, even though their only threat was the East Kingdom itself. The East was very manipulative and the South was left with no other choice as they would have just been attacked if they had refused.

Today, the South Kingdom runs on Zayn's strict rules. Their King, Edward Sheeran, is a kind young man who struggles to give his villagers what they need to survive. The East sends Edward a monthly allowance that just barely keeps the villagers fed. The mortality rate is higher in the South than any other kingdom. People are dying daily from starvation and sickness as they don't have many doctors over there. Villagers are always trying to escape and flee to either the North or the West Kingdom, but Zayn always has military watching the kingdom to make sure that no one runs away. It's actually unclear if Zayn would have attacked the South if his father never invaded or if he had never been turned into whatever he was now, but that will never be known. It's also unclear if Zayn actually wants to keep the South under his hold, but once again that will probably never be known. There are still a lot of things that remain unknown when it comes to Zayn.

Niall didn't like what was happening in the South Kingdom either, but it wasn't something that he let himself get worked up over. If the North or West were to get involved, it would just start another full out war with the kingdoms. That was something he wanted to avoid at all costs, even if that would prevent the South's freedom. He thought it was something that the South should do on its own. Neither the West or North wanted conflict with the East.

"I'm not really in the mood for doing anything today. We can just stroll around the castle if you want." Harry mumbles, pulling Niall out of his thoughts. Niall just nods in response, smiling faintly.

"Sure. Maybe I'll find a pond that I can push you in, deal?" He says mischievously before giggling.

"You're so mean to me. This is how you treat your bodyguard? Next time I'll just let someone kidnap you." He laughs quietly as he and Niall walk out of the room.

\------

"Louis, I can't do this." Liam whispers in a panicked manner as a guard opens their carriage door.

"Well, it's a little too late for backing out." Louis snorts quietly before looking at Liam. "We're going to be okay. You're going to be okay, I promise. You'll be by my side the entire time. Niall and his bodyguard won't know who you are by looking at you. Just keep the ring on at all times." Louis says before pausing. "Have you made up a name? You can't introduce yourself as Liam."

"I mean, there's more than one person named Liam." Liam huffs quietly. "But yes. I came up with Pedro Perestrello."

Louis blinks from the name, nodding his head slowly. "Wasn't expecting that, but it's far from Liam Payne so you're good." He chuckles before exiting the carriage, Liam following behind.

"Boys, I'm so happy to see you!" Phil says excitedly as he hurries over. "How was the trip over?"

"It was great. It was completely uneventful, which is good." Louis says as Liam looks around nervously. They were standing right outside of the castle with Phil and Dan standing outside to greet them. There wasn't any sign of Niall or Harry yet, which had Liam both calm and nervous. He was calm because they weren't here, but he was nervous because that meant that they could pop out at any moment. Knowing Harry, that meant he could literally pop out at any moment.

"Which one is my chef and which one is the servant?" Phil asks.

"Oh, I'm Louis and I'll be your servant, and this is L-Pedro, and he's going to be your royal chef." Louis says as Liam smiles warmly.

"It's an honor to be cooking for you. I won't disappoint." Liam says softly, although he was certain that he was going to disappoint them with his lack of cooking skills. He still wasn't sure on how he was going to get away with this.

"Louis and Pedro? It's lovely to meet the two of you. Louis, my guard Dan is going to show you how everything works around here and he'll also show you what you'll be expected to clean daily." Phil says gently as he glances over at Dan.

Dan just awkwardly smiles and waves slightly. "Hi, I'm Dan." Louis just smiles in response.

"Pedro, I'll be having the kitchen staff show you around, although I'm sure you already know how to cook so there won't be much to show you. Just where we keep everything." Liam swallows before nodding his head. His stomach was knotting up as reality finally sank in and he realized just how much was at stake here. All Louis had to do was clean, which anyone could do. Liam had to perform fucking miracles in the kitchen and he was feeling pretty jipped. Zayn must really have it out for him. Actually, scratch that. Zayn definitely had it out for him. "I'll show you guys around the castle now." Phil says after a moment of awkward silence, clearing his throat before turning around and heading inside, the pair trailing shortly behind.

"So this is our main entrance. It's the biggest part of the castle and-"

"Phil, I found the best street food ever!" Niall exclaims as he runs into the room. Harry's eyes flash white as he uses his magic to slow Niall to a stop to prevent him from running into Phil and knocking him to the ground. He waves his hand towards himself, Niall gently floating back towards Harry before he was carefully placed back onto the ground.

"Calm down." Harry says with a soft sigh.

"I hate when you use your gross magic on me." Niall huffs quietly. He pauses when noticing two unfamiliar faces staring at him in shock. "Are we interrupting something?"

"These are the two new family members!" Phil says with a bright smile as Dan inwardly groans. "This is Louis, the new servant, and Pedro, the new royal chef. He'll be the one making your meals."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you." Niall says with a smile. "Especially you." He says as he looks at Pedro with a bright smile, Harry just shaking his head in response.

Liam just stands there as he stares at Niall and Harry, his eyes wide and his mouth open. He hadn't seen Niall and Harry in what felt like ages and now they were finally standing in the same room as him. He had no idea what to think and he had no idea what to say. The world was slowing down to a full stop and Liam wasn't entirely sure if it was because he was having a heart attack or not.

Harry looked a lot different than he did before he left. It had only been two or three years, but Harry was much taller. His once short curly brown hair was now shoulder length. However, he noticed that Harry looked fragile. He had dark bags under his eyes (being Niall's guard will do that to you), he was thinner though he still had muscle to him, and his skin paler than before. He knew Harry could be a highly emotional being, so he hoped his disappearance didn't have a factor in his current appearance. He knew Harry might blame himself for his absence, but Liam had his reasons for leaving that he left unsaid to Harry.

Niall looked nearly the same has he had before. Obviously he had grown and looked more mature than he did a few years ago, but that was about it. His hair was still the brunette color it was before, his eyes still the bluest he's ever seen, and he was still a typically small man. He managed to build some muscle, but Liam knew from past experience how much he hated working out, so he wasn't surprised that he wasn't as built as Harry.

Niall awkwardly clears his throat after a moment of Pedro gawking, Harry glancing over at him. "You okay?" Harry asks with a raised eyebrow. Harry was starting to feel a rush of feelings hitting him all at once to the point where he was starting to become overwhelmed. He was going to need to mediate soon. He wasn't sure why he was feeling all these unknown emotions, but there was an odd aura surrounding Pedro that was grabbing his attention. Perhaps Pedro was a witch like Harry?

"I, uh- he's just not used to being in the same room as someone royal." Louis jumps in, slinging an arm around Liam's neck. "Don't see much of that in the South. He's just a little star struck. He was the same way with Prince Philip too." Louis laughs as he playfully ruffles Liam's hair. "So silly, aren't you, Pedro?"

Dan scoffs quietly as he listens to Louis. "He most certainly was not like that with Prince Philip." He huffs quietly as he moves closer to Phil's side. "No one is dumb enough to gawk at him."

"Calm down, Daniel." Phil says as he rolls his eyes. "Louis' right. He just isn't used to royal. Pedro, Prince Niall and I are no better than you just because we're royal. We're alike in more ways than one. Everyone here is treated equally and you will be treated like one of us." Phil says with a warm smile. "There's no reason to get worked up. Now come on, I'll show you to your rooms and then you can rest before we have supper prepared for the two of you."

Dan rolls his eyes to the back of his head as Phil talks to Pedro, sighing and shaking his head before following Phil once he leads the pair out of the room.

Niall stays quiet after they leave, Harry's eyes following Pedro as he disappears with Phil.

"I never got to tell Phil about my favorite street food." Niall pouts, breaking the silence. "Oh, shit! I never got to ask Pedro if he knew how to cook street food. Goddammit. I'll have to hunt him down tomorrow and ask."

Harry just stays quiet before turning around and heading back to his room. "I need to meditate."

"Wait up! I want to talk about my favorite street food to someone!" Niall calls out before scrambling after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So it took me awhile to figure out who I wanted Liam to look like when he put on the ring and I finally found someone I was happy with. His name is Pedro Perestrello and he's a model. You should definitely look him up because he's fine.  
> They all finally met! Things should get pretty exciting from this point on. Thanks for reading and like always, see you in the next chapter!  
> Also, I just love Phil's bubbly and loving personality in this so much. He's an actual bean. And to avoid confusion, I will be going back and forth from using Pedro & Liam's names. Basically, if anyone but Louis is speaking to or thinking about Liam, I'll be using Pedro's name because they don't know it's Liam. When it's Louis who's thinking or speaking to Liam, I'm going to be using Liam. Same for Zayn as well as he won't speak to Liam when he's disguised as Pedro. I hope that made sense lol.  
> -B


	10. Cinderella & Magnolias

"Oh my fucking god, Louis!" Liam whispers frantically that night in their shared room after Phil had dismissed them from their orientation; the ring he was wearing earlier in his pocket now.

Louis stares at the nearly hyperventilating man in front of him for a solid minute before responding. "You good, mate? And make sure that door's locked. Don't want anyone walking in on you without your ring on."

"He looked great, didn't he? Like...he looked healthy and happy and so, he looked so grown, Louis. He was so small and vulnerable looking last time I saw him." Liam says, the words tumbling out of his mouth as he speaks, too many emotions and thoughts trying to make themselves known at once.

"He does look very well fed." Louis comments flatly before moving from his spot on the bed and locking the door himself. "We have to start planning on what we're going to do." He mumbles as he digs through his bag once he gets back to his bed. "Every single night, probably until dawn, we're going to be planning."

"But then when are we going to sleep?" Liam asks as Louis continues to dig around in his bag. Liam watches as Louis grows frustrated, his eyebrows furrowing before shaking his head.

"We'll find time to sleep." Louis says, though it comes out barely as a whisper. "Where the fuck is it? Ah, wait, no- oh, there it is." Liam tried to peek around Louis to see what it was that he was digging around for.

"What are you-"

"This. This is how we're going to plan."

Liam simply stares at the object Louis was holding out in front of him. In Louis' hand was a small black metal ball the size of his palm. There were two buttons on it, a red one and a smaller white button placed right above it.

"It's...it's a ball." Liam says dumbly after trying to read his expression and giving up.

"Well, yes, it is. But this ball isn't really a ball." Louis says. "Let me explain." He hums when seeing Liam's confused expression. He knew Liam was probably very lost right now.

Liam stares at Louis, waiting for him to continue. "I'm waiting."

"This is how we're going to stay in touch with Zayn. This red button right here is going to show him as a hologram. He'll see us and we'll see him and we'll be able to talk. The white one above it is just for us to talk with him without the hologram part. Cool, right?" Louis smiles widely as if he were a child showing off a new toy.

"Did Lottie make this for us?"

"Yes, but it was my idea." Louis huffs quietly. "Zayn thought it would be a good idea for him to have some sort of means of communicating with us. Would be pointless if I flew back and forth between the two kingdoms every night to update him."

"Does it actually work?" Liam asks, the once simple black object looking so much more interesting to him now.

"Of course! Watch this." Louis says before carefully pressing the red button. Immediately after he pressed the button, the ball split in half with a bright blue light shooting out of it.

"Holy shit." Liam whispers as the light spreads out, a picture of Zayn popping up.

"Why are you calling me?" A very unimpressed Zayn asks. Liam swallows thickly, his cheeks heating up. He was still intimidating to him even though he wasn't in the room with them. The effects Zayn had on him, honestly.

"We're just figuring out how to work this thing. Cool, ain't it?" Louis snorts as he fumbles around with it. "Man, it looks so real, like you're actually here. And your voice! It's so clear. Remind me to tell Lottie how smart she is later." Louis was right; the hologram of Zayn did look extremely convincing. Although it was just a crop of Zayn's upper body, it was like he was in the room with them.

"Did you have anything important to ask me or are you just wasting my time?"

"You're so grumpy." Louis sighs, though purposely quiet enough for Zayn not to hear. "Fine, I'll let you go since you're probably busy planning world domination." He says sarcastically. Zayn just sighs quietly before ending the call, the ball closing back up. "What a lovely lad." He mumbles.

\------

Niall woke to the sound of birds chirping by his window and the sun's light flooding into his room. He yawns loudly as he stretches underneath his sheets, smiling lazily from how content he was in his cloud disguised as a bed. However, after only a minute Niall grabs his sheets and hurls them off before jumping out of bed. Niall had one thing on his mind today and one thing only: If Pedro could cook his favorite street food.

Niall was unable to ask him the night prior, so he was determined to hunt down Phil's new royal chef to find out once and for all. He didn't tell Harry about his plan because he knew Harry would just scold him for harassing innocent people who do not want to be harassed. His "plan" mainly consisted of Niall lurking around the castle until he inevitably ran into the new chef. Solid plan if you were to ask him, although it would probably be easier for him if he just went straight to the kitchen considering he was looking for a chef. So that's exactly what we're going to do instead.

Niall throws on a fluffy white robe and slippers before hurrying out of his room. He knew he probably should have put more effort into his appearance as he had an image to uphold, but he was a man on a mission. Nothing could stop him when it came to his relationship with food. Niall peeks his head around the corner to make sure that Harry wasn't out and about to stop him. He grins mischievously to himself when noting that his bodyguard wasn't around and darted towards the direction of the royal kitchen. His nose twitches as he gets closer to the kitchen, his mouth watering when the smell of freshly cooked food floats by him. "Focus, Niall." He mumbles when finding himself distracted by the scent of whatever they were cooking in the kitchen. "Do not let it tempt you. Remember your goal!"

Niall looks around as he quietly sneaks into the kitchen, praying to god that he wouldn't run into Dan. Not that Dan could do much, but he would definitely bitch at him until he retreated back to his room. Probably about how he wasn't allowed in the kitchen or something about his choice of clothing. Niall smiles in bliss when spotting his royal chef mixing ingredients together; and even better was that he was alone. He silently makes his way over to Pedro, only stopping when he was right behind him. "Hi, Pedro."

Liam immediately yelps, breaking the egg in his hand as he jumps from the sudden presence next to him.

"N-N...Prince Niall, what...what are you doing b-back here?" He stutters out, his hand over his chest as he tries to calm himself down. "You scared me half to death." Liam blinks when noticing there was no one accompanying Niall, meaning that they were completely alone in the kitchen. "Are you alone?" He chokes out.

"That's not important. Also, you have egg all over your hand." Niall points out. Liam turns a dark scarlet as he quickly wipes his hand off on his apron as he mutters apologies. "Anyways, I wanted to ask you a question."

Liam suddenly goes rigid, eyeing Niall suspiciously. "Ask what?" He asks as he tries to keep his voice calm, though the slight raise of his voice betrays him.

"Calm down, mate." Niall chuckles as he playfully nudges his side. "I just wanted to know if you cook street food? Harry said you didn't know how to cook street food because you're from the South Kingdom." Liam inwardly sighs; Harry was as judgmental as he was when he left and Niall still had no filter to him. He was glad Niall said that to him and not Louis. He was almost certain that Louis would have taken offense to that.

"I can cook street food, but it depends what kind you like." Liam says slowly as if he were thinking over his words carefully.

"Anything." Niall says quickly, his eyes lighting up as he smiles widely. "I love all street food; I don't discriminate. Whatever you can make I'll eat. I'm really not a picky eater. That goes for all food, really. I'm probably going to be the easiest person you'll ever have to please." Niall says before practically giggling. Liam feels his heart skip a beat, his cheeks starting to heat up. That giggle caught him off guard. "I'm so glad you can cook street food! I've never had it before coming here, but now that I've had it I don't know how I've lived without it. An eye-opening experience, honestly."

"I can cook anything. I'm a royal chef." He says with a wink. Liam knows he's pushing it by bragging, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to impress him. Niall quirks an eyebrow at his statement before grinning from ear to ear. The smile Niall gave him was worth it to Liam.

"You can? Now that's what I like to hear." Niall giggles. "What's your best dish?" Liam freezes on the spot from the question, the gears in his head turning as he desperately searches for an answer. Luckily for him, he didn't need to answer.

"Prince Niall, what are you doing in here and what are doing in here wearing _that_?" Dan asks as he walks in, Louis standing behind him.

"Talking to Pedro, obviously. He's my new friend." Niall says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Liam's cheeks immediately heat up once again when Niall says that he's his friend. He smiles shyly to himself as Dan rolls his eyes dramatically, Louis doing the exact same thing behind him.

"Smarta-" Dan stops himself and forces a sweet smile on his lips and Niall would be lying if he said it wasn't a terrifying look on the other. "Anyways, I need you out of the kitchen. Stop distracting the new staff members."

"I like you, mate. I think we'll get on quite well." Louis says in response to Dan's attitude towards Niall. Dan looks taken back by Louis' statement, but genuinely smiles after it registers in his mind. Niall huffs quietly before rolling his eyes. Wasn't fair, he was never able to get a genuine smile from Dan before. All he could get back from him were rolled eyes and small glares.

"Whatever. I'll see you later, Pedro. And can you make me a snack? I'm hungry." Niall says before hurrying out of the kitchen once Dan snaps at him.

"I'm truly sorry about that, Pedro. I just thought I'd come in and check on how you're doing. Clearly that was a good decision. Don't let him talk you into getting into trouble." Dan tsks before walking about out of the kitchen with Louis. "Now we're going to finish your training, Louis."

\------

"I never want to touch another fucking rag in my life." Louis mumbles before throwing his now dirty rag into the bucket of cleaning supplies. After he finished his training with Dan, Prince Philip suggested that he get his practice in by cleaning around the castle. Well, turns out that the castle is dirtier than it looks. Louis has spent the last six and a half hours scrubbing down every surface in the place and he was sure that the dust was permanently ingrained in his soul now. Zayn owed him big time for going along with his damn servant idea.

"I feel like fucking Cinderella." He huffs before rubbing at the sweat that was beading on his forehead.

"Don't look like a Cinderella to me."

Louis spins around when hearing the deep voice from behind, his eyes narrowing as they landed on the source. It was Niall's bodyguard, though he couldn't remember his name. Had he introduced himself the other night? He wasn't sure; he was too busy trying to keep Liam from fainting. "What's that supposed to mean? I think I'd make a hot Cinderella."

"Well, you are around the same height I suppose, though she might have been taller." He snarkily says. If Louis were to roll his eyes any harder, his soul would physically leave his body.

"Hardy har har. Like I've never heard that one before. Original." He snorts as he picks up his bucket of supplies. "What do you want?" He asks when noticing that the other was still there. "Are you lost or something? Looking for your lovely prince?"

"I'm bored. Niall's off doing...god knows what. I'm just looking for something to do."

"Well that sounds like a personal problem, um-"

"Oh, Harry. My name is Harry. I guess we haven't met yet?" He asks with a raised eyebrow before extending his hand. Louis eyes it carefully before shaking it firmly.

"I'm Louis." Is all he says before taking in his appearance. He had curly brown hair that went to his shoulders, piercing green eyes, and was a good head and a half taller than Louis. He was also extremely attractive and it had Louis slightly intimidated, though he would never admit to that. "Well," Louis starts, licking at his lips before speaking again. "I don't know how I'm supposed to help with your boredom."

"Well, are you done with your cleaning? You look like you could use a break." He hums as he looks around the room. "I mean, the castle looks extra clean today. I think you'd be fine with taking a break." He chuckles quietly.

"I mean...I suppose, yes." Louis says with an unsure tone.

"Great. We can walk around the castle together or something. We'll find something to do. I'm just going insane, and no offense to the lad, but I can't hang around Niall twenty-four seven. It takes a toll on you." Louis laughs from Harry's words before smiling widely.

"I can see where you're coming from. Should try spending twenty-four seven with me lovely mate Pedro. It will have the same effect on you. I suppose you can show me around the castle. I never got a proper tour of the place; only the places that they want cleaned." He mutters as he puts his bucket down.

Harry grins to himself as he walks out of the room with Louis. "Anything you want to see?"

"Maybe the gardens. I'm tired of being indoors right now." Louis crinkles his nose as he answers him. A deep chuckle leaves Harry, though he follows through with his request.

"To the gardens it is."

\------

"Oh, wow."

To say Louis was amazed by the North Kingdom's gardens was an understatement. The East Kingdom didn't much care for things like gardens as Zayn could never manage to keep the plants alive, and the South Kingdom could never afford it. This was an entirely new experience for him. "Holy shit. Are all their gardens like this?" Louis asks as he looks around with wide eyes.

The two of them stood on a path made of stone in the middle of the garden. Trees of different kinds were growing everywhere and flowers on the ground sporting colors he's never seen before. Each section of plants had either small bushes or small stones around them for protection. Along with that there were lights everywhere. Lights in the trees, lights on the stone path, and lights within the bushes. Louis was sure that this place became even more beautiful during the nightfall.

"This place looks bigger than the entire South Kingdom." Louis snorts to himself as he looks around.

"It's their biggest garden here. I think this is their main one, like for visitors and attraction." Harry comments as he walks down the stone path with Louis. "I'd come here with Niall, but he's more focused on the street food here than the actual scenery." Louis watches as Harry rolls his eyes, chuckling quietly.

"The North Kingdom isn't known as the most beautiful kingdom for nothing I suppose." He mumbles before looking at a path of flowers. He wouldn't mind staying here forever if he knew Zayn wouldn't kill him for not returning.

"You're from the South Kingdom, right? You and the other guy that you arrived with." Harry asks, forcing Louis to pull his thoughts out of the garden.

"L...Pedro and I?" Louis quickly clears his throat, though Harry didn't seem to notice his minor slip up. Calling Liam Pedro was going to be a difficult thing for him to remember. "Yeah, we're from the South. Lived there me whole life." Minor lie, but Harry didn't need to know that he also lived in the East Kingdom. That would be a fun thing to explain.

"How was that?" Harry asks curiously.

"Probably no better than living in the East Kingdom."

Harry purses his lips at this, though nods his head. "I've heard quite a bit about the South Kingdom. Like, the living situations." Harry quickly adds the last part when Louis shot him a look.

"I mean, it's not the most fun place to live if that's where you're getting at." He mumbles as Harry finds a bench for the two to sit on.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Louis just stared at Harry for a minute. He had just met Harry, but something about him made him want to open up. It was different from Liam and Zayn. Sure, Zayn was his best friend but he would never understand what living in the South was like, and Liam had never even met someone from the South until he met Louis. While he was sure that Harry was the same way, there was a friendly and inviting look in his eyes that just made someone feel safe. However, Harry could just be using his charms on himself to make him open up. He knew how witches worked from growing up with Lottie.

"I was young when the East Kingdom invaded the South." Louis starts as he looks away from Harry and directs his gaze onto the magnolias next to them. "It was when the previous King ruled the East. My father was killed during the invasion and everything was just very chaotic. It happened so fast. We were just eating breakfast together before soldiers were raiding our house. My mother had my baby sister and I go off and hide in a different part of the house while her and my father distracted the soldiers." He says as he purses his lips. He hadn't told anyone about his past besides Zayn. "We ended up hiding in my bedroom closet," Louis laughs quietly from the cliche hiding spot. "I had to keep my sister from crying so we wouldn't be found. I heard a lot of screaming from my parents. After what seemed like hours, although it was only several minutes, it went quiet and the soldiers left the house."

Harry listens closely as Louis recounts his childhood trauma. It was taking all of Harry not to burst out into tears since he was highly capable of feeling and feeding off the emotions of others. It was a reason he was so good with people, and another reason why he tried avoiding angry and evil people as much as he could. "What... what happened with your parents?" He asks quietly despite being afraid of the obvious answer.

"My mother lived." Louis says with a slow nod of his head. Harry looks at Louis with a shocked expression, though feeling immense relief that his mother had not been killed. "I was surprised when she opened the closet door. She was covered in blood but I later learned that it was my father's blood and not hers. The soldiers killed my father and spared my mother. Even though they spared her she still had to watch my father die. I don't know why they left her, but I don't think I'll ever forget the sound of her screaming."

Harry's silent for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed and a frown placed on his lips. He looked as if he were deep in thought before responding to Louis. "That's truly awful, Louis. I hope you don't hold yourself responsible for something like that. That was out of your control."

"I never said that I held myself responsible." Louis fires back, his eyes narrowed as he stares at Harry. He flinches from the harsh tone behind Louis' words before raising his hands in defense.

"I didn't mean it like that. I didn't mean to offend." He says slowly as he watches the other calm down. "My mother died when I was young, too. So, I understand how you feel to an extent." He says in an attempt to relate with Louis so he doesn't stay angry. "I mean, it wasn't as traumatic as what you went through." He adds quickly, Louis staring at him.

"I'm sorry to hear about that, Harry." Louis says after a moment of silence. "What happened? If you want to talk about it of course."

"I know you watched your father die in a way, and I watched my mom die too. I was only five when it happened though, but you'd be amazed at the memories that stick with you forever, even at an age as young as that." Harry says as he leans back against the bench; his expression unreadable. "She mistook Nightshade berries for blueberries. She only ate three, but that's all it took. My mother was a petite woman, so in hindsight she probably didn't need much in her body for it to kill her. She offered me some that day, but I wasn't hungry since we just had lunch only a few hours prior. After she ate the three berries she started vomiting and she didn't know where she was. She started screaming for my dad before she fell to the floor and started convulsing. My father was at work so it was just my mother and I at home. I had no idea what to do and I completely froze. I was so panicked on what was happening that I didn't think of doing anything. I just watched her die and sat next to her body until my father returned home."

Louis stares at Harry with wide eyes, his mouth opening before closing again. "That's intense." Harry snorts in response.

"I know it wasn't my fault as I was only five. I realized that even if I wasn't panicked there was only so much I would have been able to do." He sighs softly before turning to look at Louis, offering a warm smile. "I just wanted to share that we are more alike than we are different."

Louis smiles from Harry's words, a genuine smile on his lips. "Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What do you think about Louis and Harry getting close so quickly? That can't lead to anything good.  
> And what do you think about Niall and "Pedro"?  
> Thanks for reading and like always, see you in the next chapter!  
> -B


	11. A Soul Made of Flames

Harry grunts quietly as he presses the palms of his hands to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut as he sat on his bed. He had been meditating several times a day and his mental state was in no better shape than it was before leaving the West Kingdom. In fact, his paranoia had only worsened since arriving to the North Kingdom. It had been nearly a week and his vivid dreams of Liam were only intensifying and Harry felt as if something major would happen at any moment. Just the mention of Zayn or anything East Kingdom related had him tense.

"It just doesn't make sense." He whimpers quietly as he moves his hands away from his face. "None of this makes sense." He sighs before flicking his wrist, charms and candles making their way towards him. His eyes turn white as he feels himself lift off the bed, sighing in relief as he felt his mind start to ease. "I shouldn't have to meditate this much."

\------

Niall frowned as he looked at Harry who was meditating in the middle of their shared room. He had been meditating for three hours now and it was making him worried. He knew Harry would meditate and balance himself out often, but he was doing it much more frequently than before. Niall knew it probably had something to do with his visions of Liam.

"Harry," He starts carefully as he slowly makes his way into the bedroom. "You really need to get some sleep." He watches in relief as the charms float back to their respective spots, the candles going out.

"You're right." Harry says as he's lowered back to the floor. "Are you going to bed as well?" He asks as he notices Niall's gaze. Niall wants to voice his concerns to Harry, though he figures it would go nowhere. He simply nods his head before climbing into his bed.

"Sleep well, alright Harry?" Niall whispers as the candle stick goes out, the darkness of the night engulfing the room.

\------

"It's not your fault." Harry shakily breathes as he looks at a terrified Liam in front of him. Harry watches as Liam turns around to stare at what was once Harry's house completely engulfed in flames.

"This is all my fault!" Liam shouts as he watches the house burn in horror from Harry's front yard. "I did this! I _did_ this." He chokes out as he looks at his shaking hands. Harry frowns as he looks back at his house. His father had gone away for work so it was just Liam and Harry for the last few days, but his father was due to return within the next day.

"I'll tell my father that it was just a house fire. Maybe a cooking mishap or something that happened in the middle of the night." Harry says quickly as he moves towards Liam. "I wasn't always able to control my abilities either, Liam." He says gently as Liam turns to face him.

"Abilities." Liam laughs dryly. "Please, Harry. I'm a fucking monster. Your abilities have never done something like this!" Liam cries out. "I could have killed you!" He says as he buries his face in his hands. Liam discovered his 'ability' recently compared to Harry learning about his powers when he was a young child. Witches were trained so they could manage their powers, however Liam had never met anyone who could shoot fire from their fucking hands. Was there even a way to properly train how to handle something that was so destructive? Liam had always hated fire, so it seemed fitting that this would be his undoing. His power fed off his emotions and filled him with a wrath that he never had before. He was a walking time bomb as he often thought.

"You aren't a monster, Liam!" Harry says desperately as he grabs onto his hands. "You are a kind soul."

"Don't touch me!" Liam shouts, fire immediately forming at his hands. Harry yelps as he yanks his burnt hands away from him. Liam backs away from Harry with wide eyes when realizing that he hurt the closest person to him.

"Liam." Harry says with a panicked tone when seeing the expression on Liam's face. "Liam, don't." Harry says when Liam starts to back up more. "I'm not hurt. Look." Harry says as he holds up his hands, a blue orb around them. "I can heal it. I'm not burnt." Liam shakes his head quickly as tears well up in his eyes.

"I fucking hurt you. I can't control myself, Harry!" He cries, flames forming at his hands once again before they traveled up his arms. "I hurt everyone I love!"

"No you don't, Liam!" He shouts. "You have to control your emotions or it'll consume you." He says as he watches the flames engulfing his body. "Liam, please!" Harry yells.

"Yes, I do! I killed my parents, Harry. You know I did."

"They were ill." Harry says as he watches the flames completely take over Liam's body. "Don't say those things!"

"I know you don't believe that lie." He cries out. "You and I both know that I killed them. I lost control and I hurt them bad. I couldn't stop myself. It was just a stupid argument." Harry shakes his head rapidly, burying his face in his hands.

"Stop talking, Liam. Stop it!" He screams as tears start to stream down his cheeks.

"I did, Harry! I fucking killed them!"

\------

"I said stop it!"

Niall jolts awake from the sudden scream. He scrambles across his bed and grabs the lantern before turning it on. "Holy shit." Niall says as he looks at the room around them. Objects were flying in the air before violently slamming into the floor or wall, the bookshelves had all been thrown around with books lying everywhere, several of Harry's charms were shattered, and Harry's bed sheets were torn apart.

"Harry?" Niall asks as he hurries over to him. His foot gets caught in his sheets however, causing him to fall out of bed and face plant the lovely floor. "Fuck's sake." Niall mumbles as he pushes himself off the floor before climbing onto Harry's bed. "Harry!" He shouts as tries to wake the sleeping witch. "Wake up, Harry! You're losing control of your powers!"

Harry didn't look asleep. He was sitting up right in bed with white eyes and hair a mess. He was shouting things that Niall didn't quite understand and it was making him incredibly anxious. He had never seen Harry lose his powers like this and it was scary. "Liam, please!" Harry shouts as another object goes flying through the air, just barely missing Niall's head.

"Careful!" Niall shouts when the door swings open. He turns around to see Phil, Dan, Louis, and Pedro. "He's lost control of his powers. He's having a night terror." He says in a panicked tone before turning his attention back to Harry. "Harry, please." Niall says as he gently cups his cheeks in his hands. Liam watches Harry with wide eyes before looking around the completely trashed room. He's seen Harry have night terrors before, it was something that the two of them had in common. However, Liam's never seen it effect his powers before.

Harry freezes when Niall cups his cheeks, seeming to calm down. "I think it's working... oh."

"Oh?" Phil asks nervously as Dan makes sure to stay in front of him at all times. Dan was in bodyguard mode, ready to lunge at Harry if he made any attempt to harm Phil.

"His eyes." Niall whispers. Harry's eyes had gone from white to a dark purple, something he had never seen on Harry before. Before Niall can say anything else, Harry's eyes go back to their natural green state and everything that was floating in the air now crashed onto the floor. "Thank god." He sighs as he pulls Harry into a tight embrace, Harry clearly out of it. Harry tiredly looks around the room, groaning inwardly when seeing the mess he created. He swallows a lump in his throat when his gaze lands on Pedro, the same aura from earlier surrounding him. He felt extremely weak, but he wanted to reach out to Pedro. There was something about him that was going to drive him absolutely mad.

"Liam." Harry says as he locks eyes with Pedro. "It was never his fault." Harry whispers as he starts to struggle in Niall's hold. "Tell Liam it wasn't his fault." He chokes before going limp in Niall's arms.

"Harry?" Niall asks as he pulls away, sighing softly. "He passed out. He probably won't even remember this in the morning." He says as Phil and Dan rush over to him.

"Should we fetch him anything? A cool rag? Water?" Phil asks as he clings to Dan's side. Liam tunes out Niall's response as he just stares at Harry. Harry just told him it was never his fault. He knew exactly what he was referring to and that chilled him to the bone. Did Harry know that he was Liam? The way he looked at him; there were so many emotions in his eyes for him to think that he was talking to Pedro.

"We're going to return to bed. Please fetch us if you need anything." Louis politely excuses the two of them before pulling Liam out by the hand. "What the fuck was that about?" He asks once they reached their room. "What was he talking about, Liam?"

"I... I don't know." He lies nervously. "I think he was just having a night terror and rambling."

"He was clearly awake when he said that."

"He was delirious. He just woke up and then immediately passed out." He says before taking his ring off and putting it in his pocket. "You should take anything that he just said with a grain of salt."

"I don't think you're telling me everything that happened with you back in the West Kingdom, Liam." Louis whispers with a frown. "You gave me some vague reasoning as to why you left and I'm starting to not believe that it was because Harry teased you about a stupid crush on the prince."

"Can I call Zayn?" Liam asks softly. Louis sighs when his original statements go ignored, though he hands him the device anyways. "Sure."

Liam carefully grabs the device before making his way into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him. He promptly sits on the floor before pushing the red button, sitting the metal ball on the bathroom floor across from him. After a minute or two Zayn pops up looking tired and annoyed. Liam must have just woken him up.

"You better be dying or something to wake me up at-" Zayn turns slightly to check the time. "At three in the morning." He says flatly. Liam immediately feels panic building up inside him, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. I'll call back tomorrow, yeah?" He says weakly.

Zayn hesitates before sighing softly. "What's wrong?" He asks gently. Zayn was used to Liam freaking out over the littlest things he does, but this was different. Liam purses his lips as he tries to think about what he wants to say to him. Honestly, there was just too much on his mind right now and he just needed to talk to someone who wasn't there and wasn't in his situation.

"Do you remember when you found me?" He asks softly.

"I do." Zayn says as he runs a hand through his hair sleepily. "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know." Liam mumbles. He chews on his bottom lip nervously as he pulls at his fingers.

"Liam." He says as he looks at him with a serious expression.

"Do you think... you remember how I was with my, um, abilities, right?" Liam mentally cringes from the use of the word 'abilities.'

"I do." Zayn says again as he raises an eyebrow. "Where are you going with this?"

"Do you maybe think I've gotten better with them?" He asks quietly. He feels small and vulnerable; too afraid to even look Zayn in the eyes right now.

"Honestly," Zayn sighs quietly. He's never been good with talking to people, so Zayn was trying extremely hard to think of the right thing to say as to not fuck this up. "There's room for improvement." He swears quietly from how harsh that sounded compared to the way it sounded in his head. He frowns when seeing the way Liam flinched at his words, tugging at his hair slightly. Why must it be so difficult to say the right thing to people? "You've gotten better though. You're in much more control of your gift than you were before."

Liam freezes before looking at Zayn. "It's not a gift. I destroy everything I touch." He's never heard anyone call his situation a gift before, not even Harry. Harry would call them abilities or a special power, but never a gift, so he was more than surprised when he heard Zayn of all people call it that.

"I destroy everything I touch too." He says with a small frown. "I suffocated everything that I have ever loved and turned it all to black." Zayn feels his breath hitch when he locks eyes with Liam, even if they were only seeing holograms of each other. "But I was designed to be like that. Fire is not only destructive though. Fire brings warmth, food, and shelter. Fire can help people and save lives. It's a gift that you possess those qualities about you. You don't destroy everything you touch. You aren't like me. You can learn to control your gift. I can't do that." Liam's left speechless from Zayn's words, his cheeks reddening as everything he said settles in.

"Zayn." He breathes out with watery eyes. While he felt touched by what he had said, he was also upset as well. Did Zayn think of himself like that? As something that was only meant to kill everything he came in contact with? He was so much more than that. He is so much more than that.

"I need to go back to bed now, Liam. You should do the same." He says before ending the call. Liam just remains on the bathroom floor before fumbling around for his ring. He slips it back on before grabbing the device and standing back up.

"Here." He says as he tosses it to Louis.

"He wasn't mad about being woken up this late?" Louis asks as he puts the black device into his bag before lying down on his bed.

"He was already awake." He whispers as he crawls into his bed. "I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight, Louis." He says before blowing out the candle.

 


	12. A Chance Meeting

"Just breathe." Liam whispers to himself as he makes his way through the dark and unwelcoming forest. Liam wasn't surprised by the unwelcoming tone of the forest; usually large areas made of nothing but trees don't open their arms wide for someone who could burst into flames whenever provoked. Liam was sure that if he too were a tree, he wouldn't accept someone like him either.

He tries to keep his breathing even by thinking of positive thoughts, though considering he just abandoned his only close friend it was somewhat difficult. It was late at night, probably not long after midnight. He was spending the night at Harry's before packing all of his belongings, the few items that he had, and left the kingdom during nightfall. He knew Harry would wake up confused, but this was for the best. It's dangerous for a kingdom to keep someone who cannot control their own abilities. He just hoped that he would one day forgive him.

His hands grip onto the straps of his bag tightly, his knuckles white. He swallows down his fears as he pushes through the forest, the long and sickly looking trees snickering as he passes by. Liam didn't know where he was going; he just needed to go somewhere. There weren't many different places to live, he just knew to avoid the South and East Kingdom. Perhaps he'll flee to the North Kingdom or just try to live out in the woods. He didn't quite think this through.

If he were being honest, Liam only came up with this idea the night before. He's never been one to act on instinct, especially if it involved abandoning the kingdom you were raised in, but leaving felt right. He was sure that the universe was telling him to leave. Harry used to tell him that everything happened for a reason and that everyone had a purpose. Maybe this was just a mission for him to learn how to control his powers and then he would be able to return home. Maybe that was his purpose.

Liam continues walking through the forest before his foot gets caught on a surface root, causing him to face plant the leaves and soil. "You tripped me on purpose." He whispers as he pushes himself off the ground before patting the dirt off himself. Liam looks at the naked and skinny tree, his eyes narrowing. "You tripped me." He mumbles before sighing and sitting down in the dirt, his back leaning against the tree. He sits his bag on his lap before opening it and rummaging through the items inside. He had three water bottles, some snacks that he grabbed from Harry's kitchen, and a faded old map. He places the bag next to him before carefully unfolding the map and placing it on his lap. He looks over the map carefully, sighing quietly when realizing he had no idea where exactly in the forest he was. He just hoped that maybe he could wander around enough and just end up at a different kingdom, or maybe he could discover a kingdom that no one even knew existed. That was a cool thought.

Liam's head snaps up when he hears what sounds like footsteps coming in his direction. He grabs a stick from the ground before jumping up, ready to threaten whoever planned to sneak up on him. "Oh." He says quietly before laughing softly. "A fox." He whispers before dropping the sad excuse for a weapon and sitting back down on the ground. He smiles fondly when the fox curiously approaches him. "Hey." He says gently as he extends his hand out slightly, smiling to himself as the fox sniffed it before deciding that Liam was deserving of its attention. "You're beautiful." He says as he fox lies down next to him, curling into his side. "I suppose you don't know how to direct me in some direction that won't result in me getting lost and starving to death, right?" He shakes his head when only silence is met with his question. "Of course not."

He gently scratches behind the fox's ears before frowning from how thin the animal was. "Why you're starved yourself." He says before digging into his bag and pulling out a small pouch of berries. "I was saving this for myself, but I think that you're in need of it more." He says as he gently empties the pouch onto the ground. He watches quietly as the fox moves away from his side to eat the berries. "Something so pretty shouldn't have to suffer." He says as he runs his fingers through the animal's fur.

"You know if you die from starvation the fox would probably eat you." A voice snaps Liam's attention off the fox and onto a stranger that was standing before him. He probably wasn't much taller than Liam, though he had an intimidating aura around him that made up for it. His long black hair was pulled back and kept out of his face and the stranger had the most beautiful face Liam has ever seen. It was his eyes, however, that interested him the most. Two different colored eyes, one looking inhuman. There was no doubt in Liam's mind on who this person before him was.

"Pardon?" Was all that Liam could think of replying with. He looks over as the small fox begins to growl at the other, its hair standing up as it impressively showed all of its teeth. Liam never thought of a fox as truly threatening until now.

"You can't feed all your food to cute animals that you find in the forest. What will you do when you run out of your food? Die?" A snort leaves the other as he rolls his eyes from his own questions. "The fox would eat you in a heart beat. This forest will devour you if you let it; you need to be more smart with your decisions."

"I'm sorry, and why should I be taking advice from someone I don't even know?"

"You know me." He says as he sends a glare at the fox. "Nothing but a filthy animal." He scoffs.

"You're..."

"Zayn. King of the East Kingdom." The stranger, Zayn, says flatly. "I should be asking you why you're travelling so close to my kingdom. I can tell you aren't from the East." He says before glancing back at the fox. He grins slightly before he lunges forward to scare the animal, the fox running off into the bushes.

"You didn't have to do that." Liam says sadly.

"Yet I did." He says as he watches Liam get up, clutching onto his bag tightly. "Why are you here? I can have you thrown into a dungeon for trespassing." He says as he looks around. "You don't look like you're from the South; you're dressed too nicely. Plus the villagers don't normally escape the South and then head straight to my kingdom." He snorts quietly, his poor and slightly morbid attempt at humor. "So that leaves North and West." He says as Liam eyes him curiously. He knew all he needed to know about Zayn. Harry had gone on plenty rants about how Zayn was evil and killed Niall's father and how he would probably kill Niall too if given the chance. He should feel weary around him.

"Well? Where are you from?" Liam knew Zayn was asking him a question, but it was more like he was demanding answers from him rather than asking.

"West." Liam says slowly with an unsure tone.

"The West? Lovely place so I've heard. Now why would you be leaving a place like that?" He asks as he tilts his head slightly. "The richest kingdom, most powerful army, lovely people...the West is probably the nicest kingdom on earth." Liam swallows a lump as he shifts in his spot. He was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"I, uh, it's complicated." He says as he chews on his bottom lip. "I don't belong there. I don't know where I belong."

"So you're wandering around in a forest waiting to get lost?" Zayn pauses before looking around. "I've never seen the trees look so unhappy. Who are you?"

"I'm named Liam Payne." He says as he glances over at the trees. They really did look displeased that he was in the same area as they were. Zayn furrows his eyebrows, the name meaning nothing to him.

"But why does the forest dislike you? I'm surprised you aren't already dead."

"I kinda catch on fire sometimes." Well, that was a way to put it; sure.

"You kinda catch on fire sometimes?" He laughs quietly, shaking his head. "Very descriptive there." Liam finds himself becoming flushed. He heard from Harry and some of the other kids in the village that Zayn couldn't laugh because he was an android. They were clearly wrong about that. It had a lovely sound to it.

"It's newish. I can't control it. I burnt down my best friend's house and I nearly destroyed the village square." He sighs quietly. "It's why I left. It's not safe for anyone to have me there." Zayn stares at Liam as he listens to what he's saying, a blank expression on his facial features with the exception to the slight crease of his eyebrows.

"I can train you." He says abruptly.

"You can what?" Liam asks as his eyes widen slightly. Was he hearing things correctly? The King of the East, the supposedly scariest man alive, wants to train him? "Why would you do that? I thought you wanted to throw me in your dungeon?"

"Please, I don't actually use my dungeon. Not often, anyways." Zayn mumbles. "I want to train you because you have potential. Not everyone can control fire."

"I can't control it though."

"You have the ability to though." He says as he slides his hands into his pockets. "It's rare for people to have that power. I can train you and you can help me out in return." There it was. There was always a damn catch with these people.

"Help you with what?" He asks cautiously.

"I have some unsettled business that I need to take care of when it comes to the West Kingdom. Mostly regarding its prince, Niall Horan. If I train you, I'll be training you as one of my right hand men. You already know the West Kingdom, so you'd be able to map out the place." Liam frowns when listening to Zayn, his stomach knotting up. This couldn't be his purpose, could it? To help the King of the East capture Niall, the most important thing to his closest friend?

"I don't know if I could do that." He starts quietly.

"Did you know Niall?" Zayn asks as he keeps his gaze on the other.

"Um, no." He says as he keeps his gaze locked on the dirt beneath his shoes. It wasn't technically a lie. He didn't really know Niall.

"I'm really not going to give you much of a choice here, Liam." He says as one of his eyebrows raise. "I'm going to train you because we can't have someone as careless as you running around. You could seriously damage things." Liam scoffs quietly when being called careless. He was certainly not careless.

"What if I say no?" He asks as he grips onto his bag tightly.

"What if you say no?" He repeats Liam's question. "Then I'll kill you." He says simply with a shrug. "Can't have someone like you running around that has no control over their power. That's incredibly dangerous for the kingdoms." Liam's eyes widen as he grows pale. "And since you ran away, I doubt anyone would know what happened to you."

"You wouldn't possibly kill me."

"You want to call my bluff?" Zayn asks as he steps closer. "Let me train you, Liam. Working for me isn't that bad." Liam anxiously looks around before sighing, nodding his head.

"Okay, okay. I'll work for you." He says softly as Zayn smiles.

"Great. Come with me then. I'll bring you to my castle and get you cleaned up. We can start tomorrow; bright and early."

And just like that Liam found himself entangled in this messy situation that he's in now.

 


	13. Raven

It's been an entire week since Harry had his night terror and Niall was starting to grow worried. He's noticed that Harry has been more withdrawn and keeping things to himself. He could tell that he was trying to figure things out in his head, but he hated being left out with these things. Both Prince Philip and Dan have tried to get Harry out of the room but he would just use his magic to silence the both of them, something that was extremely rare. Harry using his magic to silence Niall wasn't unheard of, but to use it on the Prince of the North Kingdom? Never in a hundred years would he think he would pull something like that off. Especially when Harry's always preaching about being kind to royalty.

Along with that he's noticed that Harry's been having nightmares almost every night now, but not to the extreme as the first one. Niall knows that Harry's nonstop mediation is the only reason his nightmares aren't at the level as his first one.

"I don't know what to do." Niall says as sits on the garden bench with Phil seated next to him. "He's so different from how he used to be. What am I supposed to do? It's not like I can cast any spells on him or magically get him to snap out of whatever he's in." Phil purses his lips as he thinks before gently running a hand through Niall's hair soothingly.

"He's having a hard time over things that happened in the past, right?" Niall just nods his head in response to Phil's question. "But you said he wasn't this worked up about it before coming here?" Once again, Niall nods his head. "Perhaps Liam relocated here after leaving. Could that be why Harry's having such a hard time? Maybe he can sense his aura and that's disrupting his balance." He never thought of that before. It was highly possible that Liam moved here. He knew he wouldn't willingly go to the South and the chances of going to the East were slim. If Liam didn't die in the forests or of a disease, a morbid thought but a possibility nonetheless, then he could be a peasant here.

"I'll look for him then. I'll look for Liam and bring him here. Maybe that'll bring some peace to Harry." He says after a moment of thought. "Do you think that would work?"

"If he did relocate here then I'm sure you will be able to find him eventually." Phil says as he looks around the garden. "But it won't do you any good if you just sit around and worry about your friend all day." He whispers.

"Easier said than done." He snorts as he leans back against the bench. "Dan's been acting like my bodyguard more than Harry lately. It's creepy." He says over dramatically which makes Phil laugh.

"Dan is an outstanding bodyguard. Nothing creepy about that. Just give Harry some time to come back around. With everything that's been going on for you two it's no surprise that he needs a break." He says gently as his gaze lands on a bush of flowers. "If Liam is here though, do you think it would be a good idea to bring him to Harry? Or even confront him for that matter."

"I'm not sure." Niall sighs after a moment's hesitation. "But it can't hurt to try." He mumbles before forcing himself to get up. "Thanks for listening to me, Phil." He says softly as Phil gets up as well.

"Any time." He says as a pink camellia grows from his hand. "Don't stress yourself out over this." He says gently as he hands Niall the flower. "Take care of yourself too." Phil says before quietly excusing himself and heading back inside the castle. Niall just stares at the beautiful but delicate flower in his hand, sighing quietly. He had no idea what to do to bring Harry out of this slump that he was in.

\------

"Fuck this bullshit." Louis mumbles angrily to himself as he scrubs down one of the many surfaces in the castle. He was still upset with Zayn about being a maid for the biggest castle he's ever seen.

Things have been uneventful for the last week, though he's managed to keep a close eye on Liam, Harry, and Niall alike. He's been slightly concerned for Harry, though mainly because he's been acting unpredictable and he doesn't want Liam winding up hurt because of this. He's been jumping at every opportunity he could to shift and spy on Harry to see what exactly he was up to. While he would never mention this to Liam, he just wanted to make sure that Harry wasn't snooping around and trying to expose them of anything. Maybe Louis' just being paranoid, but there's no such thing as being too careful.

"Just who I wanted to see." Louis mumbles when seeing Harry with a blank expression leaving his room and heading down the hall. Louis quickly shifts into blue jay after looking around before following after Harry. Louis follows him to one of the smaller and lesser known gardens of the kingdom. A chill immediately ran down Louis' spine from the atmosphere of the garden. It was much darker than the rest of the kingdom. Even though it was the middle of the day, it looked as if night were approaching. The trees were thin and black, most of the branches naked and without leaves. The only flowers that were in the garden were black and white with no other colors to be found. Louis never knew this was part of the kingdom and was unsure if Prince Philip himself was aware of the existence of this garden. What exactly was Harry up to?

He lands on a tree branch when Harry stops in his tracks as he looks around cautiously. Louis looks around as he realizes he sticks out like a sore thumb; a bright blue bird in the middle of a completely black garden. Not noticeable at all. Once Harry starts walking down the old and worn path again Louis shifts into a raven before flying after him once again.

Harry soon walks off the path and deeper into the garden before stopping in the middle and sitting down on the grass and dirt. Louis lands on the ground, making sure he was hidden behind a bush so Harry wouldn't see him and grow suspicious. _What is he doing?_ Louis thinks to himself as he watches handmade charms lift into the air. Why would he meditate out here? He watches with great interest as a book appears in front of Harry, the pages turning feverishly before stopping. Was this black magic? Louis' only heard of such a thing but Harry always gave him slight creepy vibes so he wouldn't be too shocked if he found out he was into black magic.

He quietly moves closer to get a better look at what was taking place, his eyes narrowed in on him. Louis watches as a clear and transparent ball forms in Harry's hands. "Show me where Liam is." He demands as the clear orb lifts from his hands and into the air. "I need to know where he is." Louis watches with wide eyes as the orb starts to light up before an image of the North Kingdom appears inside of it. _Oh, fuck._ He had to stop it before it could show Harry where Liam was exactly.

Louis immediately pushes himself off the ground with his wings, his eyes wide before coming up with a plan. He darts straight at the orb and collides harshly with the object, sending him and the orb crashing into the ground. The orb shatters on impact and Louis was sure that his wings were torn to shit from the broken shards. It was't a great and well thought plan and he was in a lot of pain, but all that matters was that he was able to prevent Harry from finding Liam.

\------

Harry stares at the raven and his now shattered orb on the ground with wide eyes as he looks at the scene in front of him. Did that really just happen? Where did the bird even come from? He runs his hands through his hair as he tries to keep himself from becoming angry. It would do him no good to yell at the poor bird that crashed into his magic orb. It didn't know any better and it was probably frightened half to death already.

"I'm sorry that you hurt yourself because of me." Harry whispers with a frown as his eyes turn white. His hands glow a gentle gold as he raises the raven from the ground before closing his eyes to concentrate. Soon after a golden orb forms around the small bird, healing most of its injuries. He knew that it would more than likely still have some cuts and feel sore later, but he knew that its life wasn't in danger.

"You should pay more attention when you're flying." He says as he reopens his eyes and lowers the raven back onto the ground. "Why couldn't you have crashed into it a few minutes later at least?" He groans quietly as he looks back at the remains of his clear ball. "I've been working on this all week." He sighs as the bird wakes up and flutters its wings carefully. "And I almost knew where my lost friend was. I just had that ball made." He mumbles as he makes the glass shards disappear. He pauses before lying down in the grass, gently placing the raven on his chest. "He's in the North Kingdom though. I mean, if the ball is right anyways. But that means he's here." He whispers as he stares up at the dark sky. "And while I don't know exactly where he is, I know that he's here. That's good enough for me. I can figure the rest out on my own." He says as he gently runs his fingers through the raven's feathers.

\------

"Louis-" Liam gasps when the bedroom door is shoved open violently. "What are you- what, wait, _what_? What happened to you?" He asks when Louis stumbles in with his arms and chest all cut up. "Are you alright? Christ, who did you fight?" He hurries over to Louis, gently guiding him to his bed.

"I was spying on Harry." He says before groaning as he lies down.

" _Harry_ did this to you?" Liam nearly shouts.

"No, no. I mean, not really no. I did this myself." He says before pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. How was he going to explain this to Liam without freaking him out?

"Please elaborate." He says flatly.

"I'll explain only if you promise not to panic or freak out." He says as he props himself up on his pillow. "Understand?" Liam wants to argue with him, though decides it would just be easier to play along. "Good." Louis says when Liam nods his head. "I've been keeping an eye on Harry this week here and there to make sure that he wasn't getting into any trouble." He starts before sighing gently. "Today I followed him to this weird garden, I don't really know where it was but that information is irrelevant. I followed him to the middle of the garden and hid behind a bush while he sat down and started this weird mediation shit that was borderline black magic."

"Black magic?" Liam asks as he shifts nervously in his spot.

"You're already panicking and I haven't even gotten to the worst part." He snorts quietly as Liam forces himself to stop bouncing around.

"Sorry. Please continue."

"Anyways, this book pops up and then he has this crystal ball or something and he tells it to find you." He says before studying Liam's facial expression carefully before going on. "And it showed an image of the North Kingdom inside the ball."

"Oh fuck me." Liam whimpers as he runs a hand through his hair. He was flattered that Harry cared about him this much to find him, but it was starting to interfere with their plans.

"Before it could actually pinpoint your location or show you dressed as Pedro I flew into the ball and crashed into the ground with it. Long story short, I broke it to pieces and that's why I'm all cut up." He mumbles before sighing. "Of course, Harry's sweet and he immediately healed me and then snuggled me as he lay in the grass while talking about finding you on his own from that point on."

"He snuggled you? That's cute." Liam mumbles as he purses his lips. "He snuggled you as a bird?"

"Yeah. I don't know why this is relevant to anything." He deadpans.

"It's not. I just think it's cute that he snuggled you after healing you." He says as he sits on his bed.

"Did you miss the whole part where I said that he knew you were here and that he was going to find you? Because I find that concerning but I also find your lack of a response on that part even more concerning. If he finds out you're Pedro we're going to have a mess on our hands, Liam. I can't even think up of a lie for you to tell if that happens." He mumbles as he plays with his fingers nervously. "We have to tell Zayn this. Maybe he can control Harry somehow."

"I don't think Zayn is capable of that sort of thing." He says as he lays down. The thought of Zayn being able to control Harry was unsettling all on its own.

"You're probably right." He mumbles. His eyebrows furrow in thought before a light bulb goes off. "We'll just have to attack earlier. I already have an idea of how we can carry this out." He whispers before moving over to Liam's bed.

"Attack earlier? How earlier?" Liam asks startled as he sits up quickly.

"Like within the week earlier." Louis says as he stares at Liam. "It's getting too risky. Harry might discover you if we put this off any longer."

Liam sighs quietly as he shakes his head. He knew that they were running out of time and that Louis was more than likely right. If what he was saying was true then Harry would definitely find things out soon. He was always good at solving things. "What's your plan?"


	14. The Hunt

Niall's eyebrows furrow slightly as something in the distance is calling out his name. "Go away, Harry." He mumbles as he turns on his side and hugs his pillow tightly. "It's bloody dark out." He whispers before yawning loudly and smacking his lips together lazily. He lets out a loud groan of annoyance when two hands grip at his arms as they shake him roughly awake. "What?" He asks as he uses all the energy he can muster to lazily open his eyes. "You ignore me all week and now at the crack of dawn you want to talk?" He whines quietly before pushing himself to sit up.

He sighs quietly as he locks eyes with his bodyguard. "We need to talk." Harry whispers from his spot on Niall's bed.

"Right now?" He asks as he runs a hand through his messy bed hair. "Not in the morning?"

"Right now." Harry says as he shifts in his sitting spot. "I know where Liam is." Niall pauses before blinking several times as Harry's words settle in his brain.

"How?" He mumbles as he tiredly rubs the sleep from his eyes. "How on earth would you possibly know where Liam is?"

"He's here! He's in the North Kingdom. I don't know exactly where in the kingdom he is, but I know that he's here." He says as he stares at Niall. He raises an eyebrow from the lack of interest on his face. "You aren't convinced." He says as he ties his hair up loosely into a bun. "Why?"

"You aren't giving me any proof. How am I supposed to believe that he's here? Have you seen him?"

"No, I haven't. I feel his aura though." He says as he crosses his legs. "And I made this orb that allowed me to track people."

"That's kind of stalkerish."

"But it's important!" Harry shrieks with wide eyes. "Why are you acting like this? Whatever. Anyways, it tracked down Liam for me and it pinpointed him in the North Kingdom."

"Where in the North Kingdom?" Niall asks as he tilts his head to the side.

"Well, a bird kind of crashed into my orb and broke it before I could find that part out." He says sheepishly as Niall snorts quietly. "But I do know for fact that he's in the kingdom at least." He says with a proud smile. "Which means that he's okay."

Niall furrows his eyebrows as he thinks over everything Harry's telling him carefully. "So what are you going to do with this information? Are we going to look for him?" He asks as he yawns loudly.

"I wanted to look for him right now. Maybe we can look around the village or something. I think we've established that he isn't in the castle." Harry mumbles before jumping off the bed. "Let's go."

"I need to get dressed, Harry." Niall mumbles as he slowly crawls off his bed. "How do you have so much energy? This is usually switched around." He says as Harry tosses him a robe. "Harry, we're going outside and wandering around the kingdom. I need to wear more than just a robe." He sighs before shaking his head. "Give me five minutes."

\------

"What a surprise. Everyone's asleep." Niall deadpans as he walks down the empty streets with Harry by his side. "How would we find him now if he's probably asleep somewhere? I think it would make more sense to look for him in the day when he might be working or running errands." He says as he stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets. "Also it's cold."

"It's fine, Niall." Harry hums as he looks around the Village Square. "You're so over dramatic." He snorts when noticing Niall shivering beside him. "It's not even winter." He says as an orange orb forms in his hand. "Go to Niall." He orders. The orange orb floats away from Harry's hand and towards Niall.

"It's cute." Niall says before the orb presses itself against his jacket, disappearing into the prince.

"Warmer now?" Harry asks. Niall nods happily as a warm and fuzzy feeling spreads across his body.

"Better!" He says cheerfully as he follows Harry further into the Village Square. "This won't take all night, will it? I'm tired and I have to be up early in the morning for breakfast."

"Shouldn't take more than an hour. Just mapping out the place to find possible spots that Liam might be. That way when we come back in the day to find him it'll be easier." Harry says as he glances over at Niall. "Promise it won't be more than an hour."

\------

"You look like shit."

Niall focuses his attention on the voice beside him. "Thanks, Dan." He says flatly as he runs another hand through his hair as he looks into his bedroom mirror. "Do I look approachable?"

"You look like shit." Dan deadpans once again. "What were you doing all night? Actually, I don't think I want to know what you and your bodyguard were doing all night." He says as he makes a face. Niall immediately turns a crimson red from his accusations.

"No, no. Dan, no." Niall stutters as he quickly pats his cheeks. "No, that's not. Don't- stop that." He says when seeing Dan's grin from his flustered state. "Get those thoughts of me out of your head. If you must know, Harry and I were searching around the village for his friend Liam." He says as he clears his throat.

"Liam's here?" Dan asks as he raises an eyebrow. "That's the boy Harry was having the dream about, right?"

"Right." Niall says as he combs his fingers through his hair. Surely he must look presentable now. Somewhat presentable, anyways. Harry promised last night that they would only be out for an hour, but low and behold they were out until sunrise. Niall maybe got forty minutes of sleep upon returning to the castle.

"I don't believe you." Dan huffs before straightening out Niall's shirt. "If you're going to lie at least make it believable. Now I have no doubts what you and Harry were doing last night."

"You're just being an arse now." Niall huffs as the tips of his ears redden. "We weren't doing anything!" He whines as he pulls away from him. "Jesus, is breakfast ready? Has Pedro prepared breakfast? I don't think I can stand to be around you any longer." He says as he buries his red face in his hands. "Don't you talk to Harry about your perverted ideas, I swear." He huffs before hurrying out of the room. "Pedro! Pedro, is breakfast ready?"

\------

Niall bites into his bread quietly, his cheeks reddening when seeing Dan grinning at him from across the table. "Phil, would you please control your bodyguard." He huffs before shooting Dan a look. "He's been quite rude today."

"Oh, bugger off." Dan snorts as he scrunches his nose from his seat beside Phil.

"Dan, behave yourself." Phil says flatly as he takes a drink of his wine. "Niall, what is he doing to you?"

"Nothing." He huffs with red cheeks once again. Harry raises an eyebrow from his seat besides Niall before shaking his head. Liam smiles slightly as he walks out with another tray of food before gently placing it on the middle of the table.

"Thank you, Pedro. This looks absolutely wonderful." Phil says with a bright smile as he pops a berry into his mouth.

"Harry, tell Dan what we were doing last night." Niall mumbles as he shoots another look to Dan.

"Uh, well," Harry clears his throat as his cheeks become flushed as Dan, Phil, and Liam all look over at him. "It's not really anyone's business, Niall." Harry didn't feel comfortable telling everyone that Liam was in the North Kingdom. He wanted to find him on his own with Niall. He didn't think it would be a good idea if he were to get everyone involved.

Dan snorts quietly as he takes a sip from his drink. "Wow, Niall. I didn't think you'd talk about those things at the table. Royalty sure are wild." He chuckles as Niall immediately chokes on his bread.

"What?" Harry and Phil both ask as they turn to look at him.

"Yeah? What about you and Phil? What were _you_ two doing?" Niall snaps back as his eyes narrow. He grins in triumph when it's Dan's turn to choke on his drink.

"Don't be outrageous." Dan gasps once he's recovered from his drink.

"I told you we were looking for Liam." Niall huffs before sticking his tongue out at him. Liam immediately shifts in his spot uncomfortably. Harry sighs quietly from his response before shaking his head.

"Prince Philip, may I be dismissed? I'm not feeling too well." Liam says gently as he avoids looking at either Niall or Harry.

"Sure, Pedro. Is there anything you need?" He asks with concern.

"No, it's fine. Thank you." He says before leaving the room quickly. Niall frowns slightly from the look Harry shoots him before leaning back into his seat.

"He's an odd one." Dan mumbles as he watches Pedro leave.

\------

Liam quickly closes the bedroom door, leaning against it once it's shut and locked. He lets out a quiet sigh before looking over at Louis who was reading a book on his bed. "Hey." He says as he moves away from the door. "I think we should move the attack to tonight. Maybe tomorrow night." Liam says as he swallows nervously.

"What? Why?" Louis asks as he closes his book shut and puts it down beside him.

"Harry and Niall are getting a little too determined with finding me and I think we'll be in trouble if we put this off even a few days. This needs to be done soon."

"We can move it to tonight if that works for you." He says as he looks up at Liam. "Do you have everything ready?"

"Yeah." Liam mumbles as he nods his head. "Tonight."

"Tonight."


	15. The Ambush

Louis drums his fingers along his thigh nervously as he and Liam stare down at the spread open map on the bedroom floor. "Alright, so," Louis starts as he places his finger on Prince Philip's bedroom door. "there's two guards that station outside Prince Philip's door at night." He says before moving his finger onto the drawing of the door that was right next to Phil's bedroom. "In the next room over is where Dan's bedroom is." He glances over at Liam to make sure that he's following. "We need to quietly take out the two guards and then barricade him in to make sure that he can't get out. We are not supposed to injure Prince Philip in any way; it's necessary that he stays out of the way."

Liam nods his head as he stares at the map that lies on the floor between the pair. "We also need to barricade Dan in as well. Zayn doesn't care if any guards are killed, but I still don't think we should get involved with him. We don't know any of his strengths and talents. It could be dangerous fighting him." Louis says softly. "However, before we lock Prince Philip and Dan in their bedrooms, there will be plenty of other guards we have to go through. Right here," Louis says as he places his finger on the main hall. "there will be four guards that watch this area. Our hall is empty because we're just servants, but the main hall connects to the hall where Prince Philip's room is." He says as he purses his lips. "We'll have to be quiet so we don't attract attention from all the guards."

"How do we do that?" Liam asks as he looks up at him.

"I can shift into something small so I can sneak up behind them. You're pretty stealthy, Liam. Just sneak up behind them, put them in a lock, and snap their neck. I know you can do that." He snorts quietly. "It's the fastest and quietest method. Anything else would be too noisy. Once the guards are dead we can hide the bodies in the cleaning supplies closet. I'm the only one who ever goes in there anyways besides the other servants."

"What about the other servants? Do we kill them too?" He asks as he rubs his hands together nervously. Liam didn't want to hurt too many people if they didn't need to.

"No, of course not. I mean, we aren't going out of our way to kill them unless they get involved. The servants are in our area. We're pretty much isolated from the rest of the castle so I don't think they'll hear anything that goes down." Louis says with a reassuring smile. Liam returns the smile, feeling more at ease with the plan. "There's guards here too." He mumbles as he places his index finger on the gardens. "Each garden has at last six guards spread throughout them. We should take care of them first so we won't have to deal with them when we're escaping. It'll be a lot harder to fight them off when we're holding Harry and Prince Niall."

"That makes sense." Liam says. "And it'll be harder for people to hear us in the gardens."

"Exactly." He says with a bright smile. "You're getting a hang of this." He chuckles before playfully winking at him. "Once all the guards are taken out and Prince Philip and Dan can't get in the way we will move in on Prince Niall and Harry."

"How?" He asks quietly.

"I have these helpful things." Louis says before backing up slightly and grabbing his bag. He digs around for a few seconds before pulling out three gray balls. "Smoke bombs." He whispers with a wide smile. "And there's a lot more in here. We'll split them up between ourselves when we head out. You can use these on the guards too since you can't shift and sneak up on them."

"What are we supposed to do with those?" Liam asks incredulously.

"The smoke bombs will confuse them if they wake up. It'll make it easier for us to capture them." Louis says as he carefully puts them back in his bag. "In the event that Harry senses us." He says as he clears his throat. "It won't hurt them; don't worry. We'll sneak up behind them in the smoke and knock them out. Just please don't also get confused in the smoke." He laughs quietly. "Are you ready? We only have a few hours."

"I'm ready. After we knock out the guards I'll bring the carriage to the front so we can have a quick getaway later." Liam says with a wink before getting up. "I have to clean the kitchen. Meet up here in a few?" Louis nods his head in response before Liam quickly heads out. Hopefully everything would go to plan.

\------

"Harry, stop." Niall says flatly as he watches him pace around the bedroom. "You're the one who is being over dramatic now."

"I just have this overwhelming feeling that something bad is going to happen." He sighs as he stops to look at Niall. "You don't feel anything? Nothing at all."

"Nope." Niall says flatly as he raises an eyebrow at him. "You need to go to bed. You'll be tired tomorrow if you stay up all night stressing out over nothing." Harry gives Niall a skeptical look before sighing quietly and heading over towards his bed.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nope. Nothing. Nada." He snorts quietly as he lies down. "Go to bed, Harry." He says as he pulls his sheets over him. Harry nervously glances at Niall as he gets into bed, Niall blowing out the lantern. Harry's instincts were almost always right, especially when he had a feeling this strong. However, he had been overthinking everything recently and he's been suffering from a lack of sleep. Maybe Niall was right and he was just being over dramatic. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Niall."

\------

Liam breathes heavily as he watches two guards walking down the garden path quietly. He looks up to see Louis flying overhead as a raven before landing in another section of the garden, probably waiting to take out the other guards. He quickly tightens the mask that Louis gave him so he wouldn't breathe in the smoke.

"You can do this, Liam." He whispers to himself. "Do this to prove yourself to Louis and Zayn." He looks up as the two guards walk by, Liam taking this as his chance. He quietly rolls the small gray ball onto the path. He closes his eyes tightly and holds his breath until the bomb goes off.

"What the fuck?" One of the guards shout when the smoke bomb goes off by their feet.

"Who's there?" The other one shouts. Liam immediately darts into the cloud of smoke, grabbing one of the guards from behind and quickly throwing his arm around his neck. He pulls his fist up to his chest to tighten the hold before quickly snapping the guard's neck. His hands start to light up in flames as he moves onto the other guard.

"No, not now. Fire will hurt them too much and they'll scream." He whispers to himself as the flames go out. He quickly grabs a rock from the ground, bashing it over the head of the other guard. He watches as the guard collapses to the ground before dragging both of the bodies to the side of the castle. As long as they were out of sight, it would be fine for now.

Liam starts to head down the path to find Louis before he's thrown to the ground. "What the fuck..." He mumbles as he pushes himself up.

"Who the fuck are you?" A guard demands as he pulls Liam into a tight choke hold. Liam lunges his elbow into the guard's stomach twice before striking him in the ribs. The guard lets out a loud grunt as he doubles over in pain before Liam grabs him by the shoulders and headbutts him roughly.

"Sorry." Liam says quickly before sending a hard punch to his nose. He quickly lifts up the unconscious guard and dumps him with the other two bodies. "At least you aren't dead, mate." He says before hurrying off in the direction where Louis went.

"You ready?" Louis asks as Liam jogs up to him. "I brought the carriage around front. I cleared the rest of the guards over here. We should be good to head inside now." He says as he wipes the blood off the corner of his mouth.

"Are you good?" Liam whispers as the two of them head inside.

"Never been better." He chuckles quietly as Liam swings his bag over his back. "Remember our plan? We take care of the main hall first and then we lock in Prince Philip and Dan." He whispers to him. "Don't overthink things. I'll be right by your side." He mumbles grabbing a smoke bomb from Liam's bag. He quickly rolls it down the hall, immediately shifting into a black wolf and darting into the cloud of smoke.

"A wolf? Does he plan on fucking eating them?" Liam snorts before running into the smoke as well.

\------

"Jesus." Louis pants after finishing off the guards by Dan and Phil's bedrooms. "We need to lock them in now." He mumbles when Liam comes back from hiding the bodies.

"Use a chair and put it under the doorknob." Liam says as Louis looks at him with wide eyes.

"That would never work."

"Why wouldn't it? People use that method all the time." He says defensively. "Do you have any other ideas? If not, I think we should stop wasting time and just use fucking chairs-"

"Pedro? Louis? What are you two doing up?" Dan asks tiredly as he opens his bedroom door. He pauses when seeing the hall empty and the dried blood on Louis' shirt. "...Where are the guards?" He asks hesitantly as Louis exchanges a look with Liam. He feels his heart stop when seeing a foot sticking out from around the corner. "Um, Louis, Pedro...?"

"No, Louis." Liam says slowly when seeing Louis glaring at Dan. "Remember what you said earlier? We aren't killing him." He mumbles as Dan pales.

"Excuse me?" He chokes out.

"I know." Louis sighs before stepping closer to Dan, Dan backing away almost immediately. "Dan, I need you to go back to bed. Pedro and I are just going to lock you and Prince Philip in your rooms. No harm will come to you if you just do what I say."

"What the fuck is happening?" Dan chokes out when he backs against the wall.

"Would you feel better if we locked you in Prince Philip's room?" Liam asks gently from behind Louis. "Louis, I think that's a better idea. Might make him more willing." He says as Louis nods his head. He quickly opens Phil's bedroom door before shoving Dan inside.

"Don't make a fucking sound or I will come in there and kill both you and your lovely Prince." Louis says with a smile before quietly closing the door on a horrified Dan. "Get a fucking chair." He mumbles with a sigh.

\------

Harry jerks awake with sweat beading on his forehead. He quickly looks around the dark room, sighing when noticing nothing out of the ordinary. The feeling he had earlier was almost overwhelming at this point with every inch of his being screaming that something was very wrong. The castle was too quiet without any sounds of life and that was unsettling to Harry.

"Niall." Harry whispers as he lights the lantern on the nightstand. "Niall, wake up. Something isn't right." He says as his voice cracks. Something was very wrong.

"You're just having a bad dream." Niall mumbles into his pillow, clearly not fully awake.

"Niall, listen-" Harry's cut off when the bedroom door slams open. Niall immediately sits up with wide eyes before looking over at Harry.

"Fuck, they're awake." Louis mumbles with a sigh.

"Of course they're awake when you kick the fucking door in!" Liam says as he runs a hand through his hair.

"What's going on?" Harry asks cautiously.

"We're taking you two somewhere." Louis chuckles as Niall scurries over to Harry's bed. "Oh, no need to be so scared, Niall." He laughs as Liam frowns.

"Let's just get this over with." Liam mumbles as he pulls a smoke bomb out of the bag. "Quick and painless." Harry's eyes immediately turn white as he keeps Niall behind him as Liam tosses the bomb into the middle of the room.

"Harry, what's happening? Where are they going to take us?" Niall asks in a panic as he clings to Harry.

"Stay by my side no matter what." Harry instructs as smoke fills the room. "Don't wander away even for a second." He demands as he wraps his arm around his waist tightly. "Breathe in through your shirt." He says as Niall pulls his shirt over his nose. A golden glow form around Harry's hands as he clears the smoke only to reveal that the room was now empty. "Where did they.."

"Make this easy for yourselves." Louis says as he appears behind Harry and quickly wraps his arm around Harry's neck. "Don't struggle and it won't hurt." He whispers as Harry chokes in his hold, his hands gripping at Louis' arm.

"Let Harry go!" Niall shouts as he watches the two struggle with wide eyes.

"Fuck you." Harry chokes out as he steps his foot back behind Louis' foot, locking his leg in place. He takes a quick step back before throwing Louis to the ground.

"Fuck me? Fuck you." Louis coughs as he gets back up, charging at Harry. He sends a punch to his face, Harry stumbling back as he covers his nose with his hand. Niall watches helplessly as the two fight in the middle of the room.

"Pedro, what are you doing?" Niall asks with watery eyes when seeing him sneaking up out of the corner of his eye. Liam pauses in his spot before sighing quietly.

"I'm sorry, Niall. Believe me, when I left this was never my intention." He says softly. Niall's eyes widen for a split second before looking at him carefully. "But this has to be done."

"Liam?" He whispers quietly. "Is that you?"

"I really wish you wouldn't have said that." He sighs before quickly putting him in a choke-hold, only releasing him a few seconds later when he went unconscious. "Louis, hurry up." He calls out as he ties up Niall's hands and feet.

"I'm trying. You could give me a hand, you know!" Louis shouts right as Harry sends a punch to his jaw. "Motherfucker!" He shrieks as he stumbles back. "I'm done with this bullshit. Liam, use your fucking powers or something."

"And do what? Burn the castle to the ground?" He laughs dryly. "We have to keep Prince Philip alive, Louis!" Liam says as he gently lies Niall on the bed.

"What did you say?" Harry asks as he looks between Louis and Liam before his eyes land on Niall. "What did you do to him?" He shrieks with wide eyes.

"He's just unconscious." Louis says before pouncing on Harry once again. He quickly throws Louis off before everything slowly starts to piece itself together in his head.

"Why did he call you Liam, Pedro?" Harry asks before closing his eyes tightly. Pedro, Liam, fire, powers, his dreams. It was all making sense to Harry now. "Liam?" He asks as he hurries over to him. "Liam, is that really you?" He whispers as he gently cups his cheeks in his hands.

"Yeah." He breathes out as Harry looks over every facial feature.

"How did you...?"

"Ring." He says as he slips the ring off his finger, causing Harry to stumble back.

"It's really you." He says with a smile before his eyebrows furrow and a frown replaces the smile. "Why are you doing this?" Liam opens his mouth to respond before Harry collapses to the ground, Louis standing behind him with a now broken lantern.

"Thanks." Louis scoffs before throwing the lantern to the floor. He grabs rope from his bag and hastily wraps his feet and hands up. "Now let's end this shit show." He sighs before picking up Niall. He pauses when seeing Liam give him a look. "What? Harry looks heavy. You're stronger than me." He says as he walks out of the room with him, Liam sighing and lifting up Harry and following him out of the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: BAM! They're finally caught. And Liam's identity is now known to not only Niall, but also Harry. I wonder how things will play out from this point on.   
> -B


	16. Betrayal

Niall's eyes flutter open when he feels a throbbing towards the back of his head. What happened? He could barely remember much other than Harry yelling and possibly fighting someone. Had he dreamed everything? He moves to stretch only to have rope keep his arms and legs in place. "What the hell?" He whispers when moving to sit up.

"Save yourself the trouble. Don't struggle." Louis says flatly as he stares out the carriage window. Niall looks over at Louis before taking in his surroundings.

"Why am I in a carriage and why am I tied up?" He asks as he yawns loudly. "And why does my head hurt?"

"Liam knocked you out." He says as Niall gives him a blank stare. He just shakes his head in response before looking back out the window. Niall frowns before looking next to him, gasping quietly when seeing a bloodied and bruised Harry tied up as well.

"What happened to Harry? Is he okay? Louis, I demand you to tell me what's happening!" Niall shouts as he sits up straighter. His eyes narrow as he attempts to glare at Louis, wanting and trying to appear intimidating. "I'm royalty so I order you to tell me everything this instant!" He looks completely unfazed by Niall's outburst. "I'm of higher power than you so...so you have to tell me." He mumbles as he shifts in his seat. "...Please." When he and Harry get out of this, he's going to have to teach him how to act threatening and intimidating because he certainly doesn't have this down.

"Harry and I got in a fight." Louis deadpans as he leans back against his seat.

"I can tell. Nice black eye." Niall scoffs before moving closer to Harry to check his injuries. "This all makes no sense..."

"Think he fucked up my jaw, too." He sighs. Niall closes his eyes tightly as memories of the night before start flooding back to his mind. Oh god, this was _very_ real. He quickly pulls away from Harry to look out the window when realization hits him like a train.

"Where are we?" He asks when seeing nothing but fields surrounding them. "Where are you taking us? And was Pedro with you? Where's he now?"

"You're asking too many questions." Louis says as he crosses a leg over the other. "But because I feel bad for you I'll answer them. We left the North Kingdom. Currently we're between the South Kingdom and the East Kingdom. I'm sure you can put two and two together and figure out where we're taking you." Niall pales as he listens to Louis' words. Holy shit, was he being taken to the East Kingdom? Was Louis working for Zayn?

"What about Pedro?"

"Pedro is the one driving the carriage in the front." He says as he glances over at Harry. He frowns slightly from the bruises and dry blood that was on him. Maybe he had overdone it. He liked Harry; he didn't mean to get that rough. He just didn't expect him to put up such a good fight.

"Do you work for Zayn? Did he send you here?" Niall asks as he shifts uncomfortably.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions." Louis mumbles as the carriage enters the South. "Yes." He groans when feeling Niall's gaze boring into him. "I work for Zayn and he sent us here to capture you and Harry. I don't know why he wants Harry. Probably just because he was your personal guard and it would be easier to get you both." He frowns slightly from Louis' answer before shaking his head slowly. This was bad. Really bad.

"This is the South Kingdom?" Niall asks as he looks out the window again. It was definitely the South Kingdom. Homes of the villagers were barely held together, holes were in the roofs if the home even had a roof, the people were wearing rags for clothes, and almost everyone looked like they were on the brink of starvation. He knew it was bad to an extent, but he had never seen any of it up close and personal before. It was in that moment that Niall decided should he get out of this, the first thing he'll do is fight for the freedom of the South. No one deserves to live like this.

\------

"He's still out?" Liam asks when he opens the carriage door and noticing that Harry was still unconscious upon arriving to the East Kingdom's castle. "How hard did you hit him?" He mumbles as he carefully gets him out of the carriage.

"Liam?"

Liam looks over at a wide eyed Niall, his mouth dropped open. "You don't remember me from last night?" He asks as Louis helps him out.

"I remember Pedro." He says as he stares at him with wide eyes. Was Liam really here? Working with Louis? Which meant technically he was working for Zayn. Holy hell. "You left us to work for Zayn?" He shrieks as he wiggles in Louis' grasp.

"It's more complicated than that, Niall." Liam says as he holds onto Harry tightly. "I wouldn't expect you to understand and I don't feel the need to explain myself to you." He says as they walk up to the castle.

"Maybe you don't have to explain yourself to me, but you have to explain yourself to Harry!" He gasps as he fights against Louis. "How could you do this to him? I thought you were his best friend!" He shouts as Louis sighs from his resistance.

"If you don't stop I'm going to throw you into a coma like I did with Harry." Louis says flatly. Niall immediately stops wiggling around as Louis carries him down the hall.

"This is a terrifying looking castle." He mumbles when looking at the blood red wallpaper.

"It's really not that bad." Liam mumbles as they pass Zayn's room and head towards the back of the castle where the dungeon is held.

"Where are you taking us?" He asks quietly as he glances over at Harry. He was starting to look a lot paler than he normally did. "I think he needs some medical attention." Niall says as Louis shifts him in his arms. "He doesn't look good." He feels himself start to grow annoyed when neither Liam nor Louis paid him any attention. "Excuse me!" Niall shouts angrily as he starts to struggle in Louis' hold again. "Where the _fuck_ are you taking us?"

"The dungeon." Louis says as he tightens his grip on him. "I will shift into a python and strangle you right here, right now if you don't fucking stop." He says as Liam frowns slightly.

"Don't be so hard on him. He's scared." He says as they approach two large stone doors. "And threatening to strangle him as a giant snake won't make it an easier on you." He mumbles as he glances at his former unconscious friend in his arms. He was definitely suffering from a head injury, that much was certain. "We'll send someone to check on Harry once you two are in your cells." He says as they're greeted by two guards.

They exchange looks with the guards before the doors are unlocked for them. Niall shuts his eyes tightly, not wanting to see what lies behind the two doors. However, curiosity gets the better of him and he opens his eyes to glance around the place that might seal his fate. The dungeon walls were made of a bland stone, the color a dirty cream. The floors were also made of a similar stone with blood stains littering both the floors and walls. The cells were small with chains connected to the walls that were meant to shackle the prisoners by their ankles. Some of the cells had a small barred window and some were without windows. He hoped his cell would come with a window.

"Here we are." Louis says as he stops, a guard opening a cell door for him. "You'll be in here." He mumbles as he sits Niall on the dirty floor. "The guard here will chain your ankle and then he'll untie your hands and feet." He says as he walks out of the cell and the guard takes his place.

"In here?" He asks as he looks around nervously. "This isn't a cell fit for a prince."

"Don't be surprised when I tell you this but I don't think Zayn gives a flying fuck." He says from outside the cell as he picks at his fingernail. Niall clears his throat awkwardly from his response as the guard locks the shackle around his ankle.

"That's tight." He whispers as the guard roughly cuts the ropes with a knife. He sighs quietly as the guard ignores him, walking out of the cell afterwards.

"What about Harry? Where are you putting him?" He asks as he stands up, nearly losing balance since he spent the last several hours tied up and unable to walk or stand on his own. Louis looks behind him as Liam carries Harry into the cell. He unties him before carefully locking the shackle on his ankle.

"A nurse will be coming shortly to check on him." He whispers to Niall. He just shoots Liam an angry look before spitting in his face.

"You don't deserve his friendship or his forgiveness." He snaps as Liam frowns and wipes his face off with his shirt.

"You're lucky I'm the kindest one here. I wouldn't pull that with anyone else." He says softly before walking out of the cell.

"Don't think about trying to escape. It won't work." Louis says flatly before turning around and leaving with Liam. He groans quietly as he sits back down, gazing up at the barred in window above him before bringing his gaze back to Harry's body. He sighs quietly as he lies down next to him, gently brushing the strands of hair out of his face. "I'll get us out of here somehow." He whispers softly and presses a gentle kiss to his forehead. What did they ever do to deserve this?

\------

Liam pushes open the doors to Zayn's royal room, Louis standing behind him. "Your majesty?" He calls out hesitantly when he doesn't see him. "Is it possible he's in his bedroom asleep?" He whispers to Louis as he turns around.

"I'm here." He calls out from the back of the room. "Sorry, I was dealing with something." He mumbles as he dries his hands on his shirt as he approaches the two men. Was that blood on his hands? Nevermind that, Liam didn't think he wanted to know the answer to that. "I see you two are back and in one piece. That's good." He says before pulling his hair back. "You have Niall with you?"

"He's in the dungeon." Louis says as he leans against the door frame. "Harry's there too. He's his bodyguard." He mumbles as he chews on his bottom lip. He was starting to feel pretty guilty about everything that was going on, but he knew he was too far in to do anything about it now, let alone admit that to himself as that would make him a hypocrite since he's been convincing Liam the entire time how this is what needed to be done. It's just that Niall and Harry were so nice and sweet and there was no way to justify that the two of them deserved the things that would be coming to them in the future.

"Lovely to hear. I'll take it from here." Zayn says as his cold gaze lingers. "Any witnesses that need to be taken care of?" Liam's mind immediately darts back to Dan and how he caught the two outside of his bedroom. He wasn't supposed to know it was them; he'd be able to positively identify Louis when questioned though Liam was sure he would be safe since there was no actual Pedro. But still.

"Nope. We took care of all the guards without anyone seeing." Louis says quickly after briefly exchanging a look with Liam. Neither of them wanted to put Dan in danger. There was no real need for it.

"Prince Philip was left unharmed?" He asks quizzically.

"Yup." Both Liam and Louis say at the same time.

"That's great." He says, though there's no actual emotion behind his words. Sometimes Louis wondered why Zayn would even say those things in the first place if he didn't actually mean it. Probably because he would have had Prince Philip killed if it didn't mean getting in a full blown war with the North Kingdom. Though he couldn't imagine not getting into a war with them after this.

"Anyways, I'll be seeing them shortly. You two can take the rest of the day off. You deserve it." He says as his gaze lands on Liam. "Liam, I want to speak with you tonight." He says gently before clearing his throat. "The two of you are dismissed." He says before heading out of the room. "Enjoy your day off."

\------

"Harry, mate," Niall whispers as he pokes at Harry's cheek gently, "you need to wake up. I'm scared." Niall's spent the last few hours trying to somehow get his ankle out of the chain to no avail. His ankle was sore and probably swollen with the amount he's struggled in it, so if he were actually able to escape he probably wouldn't get too far as he'd more than likely have to hop on his left foot. If the guards weren't too busy laughing at him he'd probably be caught within seconds. Although maybe he could distract them with laughter. They'd be too busy laughing to capture him and then right out the door he would go.

However, he still has to deal with the fact that Harry is still unconscious. He wouldn't get far as Harry's pretty heavy. Unless of course he wakes up by then, and then maybe the two could just teleport out of there- what- wait. Oh, shit.

"Teleport!" Niall gasps quietly to himself before he immediately starts shaking Harry. "Harry, bloody wake up!" He whispers as he continues to shake him.

"Shake any harder and you might actually kill the poor man." Zayn says as he stares at him with an intense gaze through the cell bars. Niall immediately drops Harry before swearing quietly to himself and scooping him back up in his arms. "Trying to get your witch to teleport you out of here?" He snorts quietly before walking through the bars.

Niall stares up at him with a horrified expression. Did he just walk through the bars? Can androids do that? That looks like a something a ghost would do maybe, but definitely not an android. He was defying all logic. Niall shouldn't be focusing on that aspect right now. "What? No. He's not even awake." He says as he nervously pulls Harry closer to him. "What do you want with me?"

"That's good." Zayn says as he completely disregards Niall's prior question. "Because these chains were made for witches, or anyone with powers really. It's drained his magic." He says simply as he nudges Harry's chains with his foot. "He won't be teleporting you anywhere unfortunately. And that would only be if he were to wake up, anyways." He watches as all color and hope drain from him.

"If?" Niall asks quietly, his voice weak and fragile. "What do you mean if? He'll wake up." He says as he glances down at Harry. "He's just recovering."

"Oh, of course. I'm sure he'll wake up." Zayn says as he leans against the stone wall. Niall shoots him a look, his eyes narrowing.

"Stop doing that."

"Doing what?" He asks in a bored tone.

"Where's the nurse? Liam said a nurse would show up and it's been hours. He needs medical attention!" Niall snaps angrily. Zayn sighs quietly as he rolls his eyes. Liam's always been too gentle with any of the prisoners that were brought in.

"Liam said there'd be a nurse? That's cute. We don't send nurses to prisoners." He hums as he pushes himself off the wall. "Why would I send a nurse to look at your guard? Would be easier with him out of the way. I'll let nature decide what she wants to do with him. He's weak. I won't waste my supplies on someone who's undeserving of it." Niall just shakes his head as he keeps Harry close. In his opinion, he was the most deserving out of anyone he knew.

"He's not weak."

"He is." He says flatly, each word dripping with venom. "And he looks like he's lost quite a bit of blood. I'm assuming Louis is the one who got him like this. He's always had good aim." He says as he crouches down in front of Niall. He nervously glances at Zayn before looking back down at Harry's face. "Harry's going to die, mate. He's lost too much blood and he's probably in a coma if he's not already dead." He snorts quietly. Niall squeezes his eyes shut as he tries to tune out the things Zayn was saying. Everything he was saying hurt too much. He truly was the most evil man, no, _thing_ to walk this earth.

"And when I'm done with you, my lovely little prince; you're going to wish you died the way he did." He says darkly as Niall looks up at him with wide eyes. "Louis did him a favour."

 


	17. Promises

Liam pushes open the doors to Zayn's royal room, chewing on his bottom lip nervously. He had specifically requested to speak with Liam alone earlier, and that made him nervous to no end. Had he done something wrong? Zayn rarely wanted to speak with Liam alone unless he had done something wrong, but even then, that wasn't often because he didn't usually want to put up with him.

"Your majesty?" He calls out before spotting Zayn standing in front of his large mirror as he pulled his hair back.

"I'm right here." He says softly before turning to face Liam. "You can come in you know. You look awkward just hovering by the doorway." He says flatly before fixing his out of place hairs.

"Ah, sorry." He says as he hesitantly walks over to him. "You wanted to talk? Did I do something wrong?" He asks as he shifts in his spot uncomfortably.

"What? No, no." Zayn says, shaking his head. "I actually wanted to tell you that you did a good job." He mumbles before clearing his throat. "Don't- don't get all confident or anything." He quickly adds when seeing the beaming smile on Liam's face. It falters slightly, though Liam can't wipe the smile.

"So, if I'm not mistaken, you're proud of me?" He asks with a cheeky smile.

"What did I just say?" Zayn groans, though a smile spreads across his lips as well.

"I know, but it's not often I get to hear the Zayn almighty say he's proud of me. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard you say that. And that- what's that? Is the Zayn almighty smiling? Whoa, I must be seeing things."

"Alright, alright. Now you're pushing it." He warns as his eyes narrow slightly.

"So, is that all you called me in for? Just to tell me that you're proud of me?" He asks quietly as he carefully looks him over. It would seem a little odd if that's all that Zayn wanted to tell him. He could have said that earlier in front of Louis; but Zayn always was a private man so he might not have felt comfortable with handing out compliments in front of others. Especially since he rarely did that in the first place.

"Well, no." He pauses briefly before continuing. "I wanted to make sure that you were okay. You were upset that one night when you called me. I just want you to know that you aren't a monster. I wasn't happy with the way I worded things that night. You've gotten better at handling your gift." He whispers gently as he looks him over.

Liam grows flustered from the conversation topic, his cheeks reddening. "It's okay. I understood what you meant. Really." He says as he avoids his gaze. Only Zayn could put him in a state like this.

He looks at Liam with an unreadable expression, his eyebrows furrowed. He glances down at his hands before glancing back up at him. "It's just that you're the first person that I've had so much in common with." He whispers as he gently reaches out and takes hold of his hands. "You never asked for your powers just like I never asked for mine. You struggled with yours like I did. I never scared you away and you knew what I was like. You heard all the stories and rumors about me and you still never judged me. I mean you always look nervous around me but you just seem like a timid person in general so I try not to take that to heart." He was rambling now and Liam found it absolutely endearing.

"I don't understand where you're going with this." Liam whispers gently as he stares down at their hands. He had no idea what was happening. Zayn was holding his hands, speaking to him in such a gentle and kind manner that he thought his head was going to explode. Actually, his heart might explode too with how fast it was beating.

Zayn squeezes his hands gently before pulling his own away as he gazes at him. Liam would be lying if he said he didn't miss the way Zayn's hands felt inside his own. "I just want you safe and okay. You had me worried that night when you called." He reaches his hands up to cup his cheeks gently. His eyes take in every feature on Liam's face as his thumbs stroke his cheeks soothingly.

"Zayn, I'm okay." He laughs breathlessly as he tries to keep his heart at a normal pace. His breath hitches as Zayn inches closer to him, his eyes starting to flutter shut. "I'm okay." He whispers, his breath fanning on Zayn from how close they were. "What's happening?" He mumbles as his eyes close. Was this really about to happen? Was he going to kiss Zayn? Was Zayn going to kiss him? Someone as beautiful as him? He had no idea how he managed to get himself in this situation, but he wasn't complaining. Louis would never believe this even if he told him. Zayn? Kissing someone? Being kind to someone? He was certain he was about to throw up his heart or faint. They both seemed like possible options at this point.

"I...I have to go." He sighs as he pulls away from Liam. Wait, what? "Check up on Prince Niall and his guard. Make sure they aren't up to anything." He says before clearing his throat awkwardly. "And please, uh, don't promise our prisoners that we'll send them doctors." He gently pats Liam's cheek before chewing on his bottom lip. "You and Louis can take the day off or something. At least grab lunch. You two deserve it." He says before hurrying out of his royal room, leaving a confused and flustered Liam behind.

\------

Niall runs a hand through his hair as he glances over at Harry who's still unconscious. It's been hours since they've been thrown in there, a day at most, and he still wasn't getting any response from him. On top of that, his nerves were being shot from his chat with Zayn earlier. How could someone as friendly and upbeat like Liam leave Harry and work for a man as cold as Zayn? It made no sense to him. He always saw Liam being a loyal friend to Harry. Liam was a better friend to Harry than he could ever be. He was at a loss with how this whole thing even happened. He wonders how Harry must be feeling. If Niall felt any sense of betrayal, he was sure that it was worse on his end.

"Harry, please. You need to wake up so we can get out of here." He whispers as his voice cracks; his shaky hands carefully and gently lift Harry's limp body, holding him in his arms. "Harry, please." He whimpers as he brushes his hair out of his face. "I know you aren't dead. You have more fight in you than that. You would never just leave me." Tears threaten to spill from his eyes as he tries to get a response from him. "You've been my best friend forever. You mean so much to me. There's so much that I haven't been able to tell you yet. You can't just _leave_." Niall chokes on a sob as he stares down at the pale and limp body in his arms.

"I know you've only been my guard for three years, but you've been my best friend for so much longer." He whispers as he tries to clean off the dried blood from the corner of Harry's lips. "Do you remember when we were children and I accidentally broke my neighbor's vase that was in his front yard? And then immediately after I started to cry because of how much trouble I was going to be in when my neighbor found out." He laughs dryly as he stares down at him. "And I started to hyperventilate when he came out and you covered for me by saying that it was you who broke the vase. You got into so much trouble. Your father beat you when he found out how much he'd have to pay my neighbor back for the vase. I should have said something. I should have told your father that it was me so he wouldn't have beat you so bad. You didn't even cry when my neighbor was screaming at you for the vase or when your father punished you. I remember wishing so much to be as brave as you back then." He whispers as he cradles him in his arms. "Then and now. You put your life on the line for me while I just stood and watched. This is all my fault. If I stopped Louis or I stepped in, then you wouldn't be hurt and maybe we wouldn't be here. This is all my fault." He sobs as he pulls him closer, burying his face in his neck. "It's my turn to protect you now. I promise I won't let Zayn even lay a finger on you. I will do everything in my power to prevent that. I promise on my life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know no one asked for Ziam fluff, but uh, here it is lmao  
> What do you think about Zayn and Liam? Personally I ship it to the moon and back even if they're more than a little problematic.   
> -B


	18. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

It's been three days- three? Maybe more, he hasn't really been able to keep track- since Niall's been thrown in a dungeon and Harry is still unresponsive. He was numb at this point, his mind swarming with millions of thoughts about Harry's health and his own fate. He wondered if his mother knew his whereabouts, if she knew that he was in Zayn's dungeon. He figured that word must have gotten out by this point; there'd be no reason for why it hadn't.

Was Harry dead? Niall wasn't sure. He checked his pulse numerous times, though he was never properly trained for much else, so there was only so much he could do. He didn't know how a pulse should feel normally and it was only then that it set in just how naïve he truly is. If he ever wanted to be King of the West Kingdom, there would be a lot he'd have to learn. He was practically still a child at this point.

Harry was still lying in his arms, his face as pale as ever and his lips were turning blue. He's never seen anyone alive with blue lips, but he wouldn't give up hope. He refused to believe that Harry was dead and that he was all alone in Zayn's dungeon. That was a terrifying thought on its own.   
"Harry," He whispers, gently patting his cheek. "When we get out of here, I'm going to make you the biggest supper ever. I'll make it myself without any help from the chiefs, and I'll bring it to you in bed. You'll be so spoilt." He whispers as he gazes down lovingly at his friend. His stomach growls at the thought of food. The guards were giving him some bread once a day, if that, just so he wouldn't starve to death before Zayn could play around with him. He could only imagine how hungry Harry would be once he woke up.

His thoughts are pulled away from Harry once his cell doors open. "Get up." The guard says once he unlocks the shackle from Niall's ankle.

"Where am I going? What about Harry?" He asks as he puts him back down on the ground.

"Shut up." He says harshly as he pulls him out of the jail cell. Niall takes one last glimpse back at Harry before being dragged out of the room.

"Am I free?" He asks. It was a foolish hope, he knew that, but he still wanted to ask that. The laugh in his face from the guard though was enough to bring him back down to reality. Alright, so he wasn't free.

"Zayn wants to see you." He says as he pulls him further into the dungeon. "Can't be good for you." He snorts as Niall looks around wildly. Zayn wanted him now? Where was he going? The dungeon was growing colder and darker. The cells down here were empty apart for rotting corpses- the smell was absolutely dreadful- and the torches that were growing more and more sparse. If there were such a thing as hell on earth, Niall was sure that this would be it.

"What is-" Before he can finish, a door is opened and he's thrown into a much smaller and darker room. His heart was racing in his chest as his eyes desperately tried to adjust to the darkness. Where was he? What room was he in? Was he _alone_? He crouches down by the door, running his trembling hands through his hair as he tries to calm himself down. Anything could be in this room with him. A monster, a lion, _Zayn_. He didn't know which of those three were the scariest. At least a monster or a lion would just eat him. Zayn was the type that would play around with his prey before devouring them.

No, he wouldn't hide by the door like a child. He needed to be a man; or at least be as much of a man as he could be. He pushes himself back up and starts to carefully wander around the room. He stuck his arms out to help navigate himself around the pitch-black room, but then he started getting paranoid about losing an arm somehow, so he put them back down and kept them to his sides.

_Thump._

He bumped into something. Niall freezes in his spot from fear at first before realizing that it was an inanimate object. That didn't make it any less dangerous, but it was enough to bring some ease to himself. He carefully and slowly moves his hands over the object, jumping back slightly from how cold it was. Steel. It felt like steel. What was this? He moves his hands over the surface of the object as he tries to figure out what it was. Could it be a table? Why would there be a table here?

He screams loudly and grips the table to keep himself upright when something ricochets past him, bouncing off the wall behind him and landing on the floor. The only thing Niall can hear is the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears and something rolling across the floor. He decides to investigate the matter, because honestly, _what the fuck._ He carefully follows the sound of rolling, crouching down once he believes he's found the source of where the noise was coming from. He carefully feels around the floor before his hand lands on something small. "What the hell?" He whispers to himself as he picks it up and inspects it closely, not that that mattered though. His eyes still hadn't fully adjusted to the darkness so he had no idea what it was that he was holding. It was small and long with one end fanning out and the other end coming together. It was sharp and-

"Is this a bloody arrow? Poison dart?" He shrieks as he throws the object back to the floor before he can accidentally poison himself. What the hell was going on here?

"I was hoping you'd just poison yourself and make my part easy." Niall twirls around in the direction of the voice, his eyes wide.

"Z-Zayn?" He asks nervously as he backs away slowly. If his heart could burst out of his chest and run away, it would be doing so. A single, glowing red eye appeared in the darkness. It was definitely Zayn. "What am I doing here?"

"You haven't put that together yet?" He asks as he walks closer to Niall until there's only inches separating the two of them. Niall couldn't believe he was never trained to fight before. The only combat skills he knew were the basics that Harry taught him for self-defense, which even then his mother was against him learning. He'd make sure to sign himself up for some combat training once he got out of this.

"What do you want with me? Why are you doing this? We are both royalty; we shouldn't be treating each other like this." He says as he backs against the wall.

"I think we should talk later. I'm more of an action kind of guy." He purrs as Niall feels a light pinch on his upper arm.

"What did you just do?" He shrieks as he scrambles away from the other. He rubs at his arm furiously, his heart racing as he starts to feel lightheaded.

"Relax. You'll just fall asleep. When you wake up I'll tell you why you're here." He says as Niall tries to balance himself against a wall. "The poison isn't meant to kill you. Unless you have an allergic reaction to it. That would just make it disappointing on my end."

Niall's not sure if he's about to faint from Zayn's words or if it's whatever he pricked him with, but he's starting to feel himself lose consciousness. The last thing he hears is Zayn whisper, "Don't be afraid of the dark, Niall."

\------

Dark. It's so dark and cold. Harry doesn't know how long he's been like this, but he can tell by the seriousness of the situation that it's been a while. His magic is undeniably weak, which means that something must be preventing him from using it. Harry doesn't know where he is, but he knows that he's unconscious. Everything surrounding him was black, but he could still somehow see.

He's sitting crisscrossed in the middle of nothing, trying to figure out a way to wake himself up. Harry knows that he only has so much time before he dies. He has no charms, no spell books, nothing. He can remember the spells and chants by heart, but it was always a comfort to have his charms and spell books around in case he slipped up.

His eyes close as he pulls his hair back into a tight bun, his heart beat steady. He needed to be focused if he wanted this to work. He's never had to do anything like this before, so he had no idea if it would work. When he was younger, around the time he started to grasp the full concept of his abilities, he learned of certain spells that could be used if a witch was put into a coma or anything similar. While he wasn't sure if his condition qualified as something as serious as a coma, he could feel his powers draining and his life slipping away. As concerning as that aspect alone was, he needed to keep himself together so he could get Niall and himself out of this mess.

He has almost no memory of what happened and where exactly he is, but he knows it's not good and that time is not on their side. He might have fought Louis and Pedro might have been there to watch. Everything was still fuzzy and Liam kept popping up in his mind and he wasn't sure why. His memory must be slipping from him because of how long he's been in this state. Once he wakes up he's sure his memory will come flooding back.

He inhales as his body becomes balanced, chanting a spell quietly underneath his breath. Hopefully within the next few minutes he'd be back out in the real world with Niall.

\------

Harry jerks awake, sweat beading on his forehead as his hair sticks to his face and neck. He was drenched in sweat and his stomach felt like it was about to cave in on itself from hunger. "What the fuck..." He mumbles quietly as he runs his hands through his hair. He pushes himself to get up, though his weak legs force him to sit back down. He looks down at the chain shackled to his ankle, a sigh leaving his lips. That's what must have been draining his powers. It made sense that they would use chains that drain energy from witches.

"How am I going to get out of this?" He mumbles under his breath as he pulls weakly at the chain. He must have some magic left inside him. _Wait. Where's Niall?_

"Niall?" He calls out, panic taking over him. "Niall!" He yells as he forces himself to get up. He hurries over to the cell doors, roughly pulling at the rusting metal. "Hey, hey!" He screams out to the guards. "Where is he? Where's the prince?" He demands, though they pay him no notice. He runs a hand through his knotted hair, closing his eyes tightly and resting his forehead against the bars as his head throbs.

"You shouldn't scream if you just woke up. You're only going to make your head hurt more."

Harry snaps his eyes open to be greeted by Liam.

"Liam?" He whispers with wide eyes. Was this happening? Was Liam really standing there in front of him? He backs away slowly as he buries his face in his hands as the memories from the other night come rushing back to him. That's right; Pedro was in fact Liam, but why was he doing this? Why was he in the East Kingdom? "Liam, what the fuck?"

"I know." He whispers sadly. "I didn't leave with the intentions of coming here. I didn't want to meet Zayn, but it's something that just happened."

"How is it something that just happens? Where is Niall, Liam?" He asks. "Is he alright?"

Liam pauses for a second, shifting in his spot. "He's with Zayn."

"He's with Zayn? Are you insane?" Harry can't believe what he's hearing right now. Liam seriously let Zayn take Niall? He's leaving them _alone_ right now?

"I'm sorry, Harry. I really can't do anything." He says with a frown. It was true. He never had a choice when it came to Zayn, from the moment they first met all the way to now.

"What do you mean you can't do anything? You bloody _work_ for him, Liam! Of course you can do something!"

"You think I left the West to willingly come to the East?" Liam's eyes were nearly bulging out of his head from Harry's accusations.

"You never fucking told me why you left, so how should I know?" Harry shrieks with wide eyes.

"I left because I was dangerous! I was a walking time bomb, Harry." Liam says as he runs a hand through his short hair. "Zayn found me in a forest by the East Kingdom when I got lost. He said I either worked for him or would be thrown into his dungeon for trespassing. That's how that went."

"So, you picked him over Niall and I?"

"I didn't want to rot away in a dungeon cell, Harry." Liam said with a frown. "And I didn't think... I didn't think he'd use me to get to you. He doesn't even know that I knew you or Niall. I didn't tell him that."

"I just don't understand why you wouldn't just run away? You could have come back to us. And on top of that you choked Niall! And then you let Zayn take him somewhere alone. It's like you don't care. Do you want Niall dead, is that it?"

"Of course I don't want him dead." He whispers before looking around nervously. He needed to make sure that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. "I couldn't run away. It was never that simple. You think you can just run away from the King of the East?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

Harry pauses before sighing quietly. That was true; he couldn't even imagine working for someone like Zayn. "I'm just saying you could have done something. Why didn't you just leave? There could have been a night where you could have snuck off."

He wasn't technically wrong. There were many opportunities for Liam to sneak off in the night and return home to Harry and Niall. He didn't have to stay and he didn't have to become Zayn's right hand man. He stayed because he wanted to. He grew close to Louis and something about Zayn kept him so intrigued that he couldn't leave. He _wanted_ to stay. Liam knew what he was doing and now he has to face the consequences. Literally.

Harry laughs dryly with no real humor behind it. "You didn't want to leave, right?" He just shakes his head when he doesn't get a response again from the other. "You slept just fine at night abandoning your best friend for some _monster_. What went wrong with you, huh? What did he do to you? He messed with your head or something. The Liam I know would never do something like this." His voice is breaking as his eyes start to tear up.

"He's not a monster." He says stiffly. Harry just snorts. Out of all the things to respond to, it was that. "Stop talking like you know what I went through. You have no idea what this whole thing was like for me." He hisses out. "I ate myself alive because of this. It's a fucked up situation to be in, you don't think I know that, Harry? He didn't do anything to me. He's never hurt me. Don't talk like you know him. You know nothing about Zayn. You don't know anything that he's been through. He's been hurt too, Harry."

"How can you stand there and say he's not a monster when you know the things he's done to people? How can you even defend a person like him? The things that he's probably doing to Niall right now." He closes his eyes tightly at the thought of Niall. He was going to kill Zayn with his bare hands when he got out.

"He-" He sighs quietly as he runs a hand through his hair again. "You never understood what I was going through. He knew exactly what I was dealing with. My powers, my feelings, everything I had been through he went through too."

"Of course I understood what you were going through!"

"No, you didn't, Harry. Look, I'm not having this conversation with you right now. It isn't doing either of us any good. Niall will be back soon. Sit tight." He mumbles before walking off.


	19. Monster Lurking in the Darkness

Harry stares in bewilderment from Liam's outburst and accusations. Of course he understood what Liam was going through. He had to deal with his own abilities as well. "Liam! Liam, come back!" Harry yells out as he shakes at the cold metal bars again. "Liam!" He groans loudly when there's no response. He was gone now. Why was it that Harry was often calling out for Liam? Why was it that Liam was always leaving him?

He carefully walks back over to the spot he was previously sitting and plops himself back down on the cold ground. He'd have to deal with him later. The more important issue at hand was how was he going to get him and Niall out of here? He needs to focus; look closely at the details surrounding him. There must be something that would guide him in the right direction. There had to be. Harry blows out air as he looks around his dungeon cell carefully. He raises a perfect eyebrow when noticing cracks in the wall where his shackle was attached. They weren't huge significant cracks, but they would have to do.

He cracks his neck before gently slapping his cheeks with his hands. He needed to wake up for this. He sits himself up straight, eyes focused on the cracks by his chain. His eyes glow white as he feels the little magic he has left flow throughout his body. He knew he was going to be cutting it close by using the last bit of his magic when his energy was already so low and his nerves shot through the roof; he didn't have much of a choice though. He casts a silence spell over his dungeon cell, trapping all noise he'd make inside his cell so the guards outside wouldn't hear him. He was indeed about to cause quite the commotion, so he didn't want any guards ruining his plan.

His eyes return back to their natural state. He looks around cautiously before screaming out, "I'M ESCAPING!" He sits in the same spot with wide eyes as he listens closely. Once it's clear that no one heard he smiles widely. This could be easier than he thought. He decides to carry out his plan while sitting, afraid that if he were to attempt it while standing that he would only hurt his already fragile body. He places his hands on the ground to balance himself, his posture the straightest it's ever been. He lifts up his right foot, lining it up with the cracks in the wall. He'd probably only have to kick it a few times should he use the right amount of force before he's able to pull his shackle out of the wall. Then he would just have to figure out how to get out of his chain.

"Okay, Harry. You can do this." He silently encourages himself before sending a hard kick to the weak concrete. He flinches from the harsh shock that jolts up his leg, his eyes squeezing shut. His body was still very much weak from his injuries and this was no doubt going to make him even more sore. But still, he had no choice. He sends another strong kick to the wall, the cracks becoming larger and more defined. "Only two more. Three at most." He comforts himself before sending another agonizing kick. The concrete was definitely about to cave in on itself which would allow him to pull himself free. This was very good. With one final blow, Harry manages to kick a hole into the wall. His leg and foot were throbbing but he was no longer chained to the wall.

However, his spell only prevented the guards from hearing anything. If any were to walk by or check in on him they would still be able to see him. He needed to wrap things up quickly. Because the chain was no longer attached to the wall, it was much weaker than it had been originally. Already Harry could feel some of his magic coursing through him. Thankfully it was just enough to get him out of this situation. As his eyes flash white the chain around his ankle disintegrates and falls to the ground.

Now he just needed to find Niall.

\------

Niall wakes up to his head pounding as his eyes slowly flutter open. His surroundings were dim, only allowing him to see what was close to him. The room was empty with stains on the floor, the walls bare and plain. _Was he dreaming?_

He moves to bury his head in his hands, though the restraints tied to him prevent him from doing so. He feels his heart start to race as he looks down, his hands and feet both strapped down. He tries to wiggle himself free of the restraints but to no avail. Where the hell was he? And why was he strapped to a table- _Zayn_. Niall mentally swears when recalling the events that took place earlier.

"I can practically feel your anxiety from across the room." Zayn deadpans as he approaches the table that he's tied to.

"Why are you- what is _that_?" Niall panics when seeing a sharp object in his hand. It was a knife of some sorts, something you would dissect a frog with so he didn't feel exactly comfortable when seeing Zayn approaching him with it. "Don't get near me with that!" He yells as he tries to cower away from the other.

"I'm not going to kill you, Niall." Zayn whispers as he crouches down next to the table so he could be at the same eye level as him. He smiles when Niall makes eye contact with him. He squeezes his eyes shut as he quickly looks away from the other. Zayn smiling was probably the creepiest thing he's ever seen. It wasn't a normal smile; his eyes were empty. He grew up being told that monsters don't smile, so to see one smiling right in front of him was quite the experience.

"Then what do you want with me?" He asks after regaining his composure. He couldn't let Zayn scare him like this. He wouldn't let the other get under his skin. And if he were going to die, he wanted to die with dignity and cowering away isn't exactly what he would consider having dignity looked like. He locks eyes with the other man, his gaze unfaltering. He wasn't going to be intimidated no matter how much the other scared him. "Answer me." He demands with a steady voice when Zayn didn't answer his question outright.

Like a switch being flipped, Zayn's smile fades and his eyes darken. With a quick and swift movement, the knife in his hand is pressed against the side of Niall's neck. "You aren't in the position to make demands." He says flatly. Niall can feel his heart pounding in his chest as he desperately tries to put space between his neck and the knife. He inhales sharply when the sharp tool is pressed into his neck further.

"I thought you just said you weren't going to kill me?" He keeps his voice steady, refusing to fall apart in front of him. He was not going to let him have his way.

"You don't deserve it." Zayn whispers as he looks over the brunette carefully. What was he talking about? He wasn't making any sense and Niall was starting to grow frustrated.

"I don't deserve what?" Niall asks as he strains his neck to look at the now standing man. His question falls onto deaf ears though. His breath hitches when he feels his skin break under the knife, a trickle of blood running down his neck.

"You're so weak." He sighs when seeing the blood pool at his collarbone. "It's a wonder how your kingdom adores you so much when you just sit behind your mother all day. You're completely unfit to rule a kingdom. If anything, I'd be doing everyone in the West a favor." He says stoically, pulling the knife away and tossing it onto the floor. The sound of the metal knife clashing onto the concrete floor echoed throughout the room. Niall's eyebrows furrow as he listens to Zayn degrade him. Why was he so bothered by the way he acted at home? "It's hard to understand why so many people cherish their beloved prince so much when you can't do anything for them. You can't provide for them, you can't defend them; you can't do anything for them."

"That's not true." Niall says as he watches Zayn retreat to another part of the room.

"Is it?" He asks with no real emotion in his voice. He grabs hold of a metal tray, pushing it back over to the table where Niall is. "It seems that way to me." He whispers as he picks up a bone cutter.

"What the fuck is that?" He stumbles over his words when seeing the curved knife in his hands.

"I want to know why it is that you lead such a good life." He mumbles as he puts the horrifying tool back down on the tray. Niall lets out a breath of relief, though he keeps a cautious eye on the unpredictable king. He runs his fingers over the various tools lined up on the tray, a soft sigh leaving his lips. "Why do you get everyone to love you? Why do you get a caring father who put his life on the line for you? Why do your villagers love you so much when you're so incapable of defending your own kingdom, let alone yourself?" His voice was rising until he was practically shouting by the time he asked the last question. His eyes were wide as he runs a hand through his jet black hair.

The brunette boy licks his lips anxiously as he watches Zayn think over his options. "D-Do you want me to answer those questions?" He stutters out nervously. He immediately shuts up when Zayn shoots him a deadly glare.

"Did the universe just decide that you would have an easy life while it completely discarded me?" He attempts to calm himself down as he grinds his teeth together.

"Easy? My life isn't easy." He argues as he attempts to sit back up. He sighs when realizing it was pointless to struggle against the restraints and lies back down on the cold table.

"Why? Because your father died?" He deadpans and rolls his eyes. "Poor you. It must have been so hard to be coddled by your mother and guards for the rest of your life after." He can tell he's angering Niall, though it doesn't bother him in the slightest. "What is it that you actually do? Why is it that your life isn't easy?" Niall immediately opens his mouth to respond but closes it when nothing was coming to mind. While he hated to admit it, he was right. Niall did have a relatively easy life other than his father dying. His mother, the queen, and Harry carried out most of the work that needed to be done in the kingdom. He didn't have a specific role back home. He just had to follow his mother's orders and take social classes for when he became king. Up until this point his life was simple.

"The reason you're here," he licks his lips as he picks the bone cutter back up, "is because I'm going to make you experience what it's like to be me."

Niall's heart pace quickens as he desperately tries to wrestle his way out of his restraints once again. "What does that mean?" He asks as the leather straps dig into his arms.

"What? You don't want to know what it's like to have the world think of you as a monster when you haven't done anything wrong?"

"You _killed_ people, Zayn. Look what you did to the South Kingdom!" Niall shrieks as he looks at the other as if he's crazy. "You were the one who told the world that you're a monster!"

"You were raised believing that I was a monster." Zayn hisses as he approaches the other with the curved weapon in his hand. "Did you ever put any thought into it or did you just naturally assume I was one?" He asks as he leans over the other, Niall wanting to curl into himself from fear. "I didn't do that to the South Kingdom; my father did. I'm showing them more mercy than he ever did. Do you honestly think they could even function on their own? They've always been owned by another kingdom.

"I don't expect you to know what it's like to have people view you as a devil. To have the other children run away from you when you just wanted to play. I was dubbed as a monster before I ever had a chance to prove otherwise."

"Then why didn't you?" Niall shouts as he stares up at the android. "Why didn't you grow up to be something wonderful? You didn't have to kill people. You didn't have to run your kingdom the way you do now. No one is forcing you to do anything, Zayn! You had all the potential to be a wonderful king." He's shouting now, but he can't stop himself nor find it in him to care. If Zayn was going to kill him then he might as well be vocal about his opinions.

Zayn smiles, though once again there's no emotion in it. "There was a child who was pretty since birth. Others said, "how pretty," "so pretty," thinking that the child is beautiful, and so the child became beautiful. There are those who are stupid since birth; because others called them stupid there are people who became stupid. Also," he leans over him further, his lips inches away from his ear, "there are those who are monsters since birth. People see them as monsters, call them monsters, so they become monsters."

Niall stares at him with wide eyes as he pulls away from the other. He was shaking, terrified of what might be lying in store for him. "Like I said earlier, I'm not going to kill you." Zayn hums as he tightens the leather straps that were keeping him in place. He really couldn't move against the restraints now. "You'll wish you were dead though. It's quite a painful process to become a monster like me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes; I definitely took Kyungsoo's quote from his drama I Remember You, and used it on Zayn because I found it extremely fitting.  
> Hope you're ready for the next chapter~  
> -B


	20. An Alliance Formed

Harry didn't plan on hiding in a cramped closet after escaping, yet here he was; hiding in a cramped closet after escaping. He knew that any minute now the guards would become aware of his escape, if they weren't already aware. His time was limited and he needed to track down Liam as soon as possible. And maybe Louis too, but mainly to punch him in the face for nearly putting him in a damn coma. 

He fumbles with the crystal ball in his hands. It was much smaller than his original one; the one that was smashed to pieces from a raven. "Show me where Liam is." He whispers as he holds out the crystal ball in his hands, his eyes white. The small crystal ball lifts from his hands, floating just above them as it radiates a soft glow. Sure enough the crystal zooms in on the East Kingdom's castle before zooming into what he believed was Liam's room. He sighs quietly as the small crystal falls back into his hands. With a snap of his fingers, the small crystal vanishes into thin air.

He carefully opens the closet door, peeking his head out long enough to see if there's any guards around. He sighs in relief when noticing there were only two or three. He quietly closes the closet door once again, his eyes glowing white once more as a chants a spell under his breath. 

\------

Liam's reading a book on his bed while Louis lingers by the doorway, his gaze set on him and unmoving. "So," he whistles as he rocks on his heels, "what's up?" Liam quirks an eyebrow as he looks up at Louis. 

"Nothing." He says slowly and closes his book when noticing that the other has no intentions of leaving. "What's up with you?" Louis' wearing a shit eating grin on his face and it's making him uneasy. "What are you up to, huh?" 

"So you and Zayn, yeah? That's a thing that's happening now?" Liam chokes on his own saliva as he approaches the bed. "What are you talking about?" He asks once he recovers. Louis just rolls his eyes as he sits on the edge of his bed. 

"What do you mean? You're easy to read." He snorts, leaning over and taking the book from the other. "I saw you all rosy red the other day." 

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

"But it was right after you left Zayn and I know that you have this weird thing for him or whatever, but you never leave him that red. Usually you try to keep it subtle." Liam feels his cheeks heat up just from the conversation. "Is my Zayn growing  _soft_?" He asks before laughing loudly from how red the other was becoming. "I guess that's my answer. So," he stares at the other expectedly and tosses the book onto the floor, "tell me the details." 

"There are no details." He says as he furrows his eyebrows. "Not really, anyways." Louis immediately frowns and urges the other to go on. "He left before anything could happen. If anything, he was just being nice to me."

"He was just being nice to you?" He asks with an uninterested tone. "That's it? That's what made you so red? He really doesn't even have to try, does he?" Liam rolls his eyes before lying down on his bed. 

"Well, he almost kissed me too." He mumbles shyly and buries his face in his hands. "He almost  _what?_ " Louis shouts before scooting closer to him. "Excuse me? Explain yourself please?" He wasn't asking of course, more like demanding. 

"I don't know. He called me in to talk and he was just being sweet and kind to me." He mumbles as he picks at the loose fabric of his shirt. "And then he moved closer to me," he holds his hand up only inches from his face, "this close." Louis raises his eyebrows before smiling brightly. 

"Oh my god." He sounds just like a teenage girl gushing about a crush. "Then what?"

"He left." He deadpans, Louis groaning after. "That's it? God, Zayn. I'll have to have a talk with him. He's probably not used to liking someone." He snorts and Liam shakes his head quickly. 

"You absolutely can not talk to Zayn about it. He doesn't know that I told you and he'd probably be humiliated. I'm just now getting him to like me-"

"Like seems to be an understatement." Louis interrupts, though Liam barely pays any mind to it. 

"-and he doesn't like to show emotions. I'm impressed he even complimented me in the first place, let alone try and kiss me." He sighs before pushing himself to sit up. "That's probably the most I'm going to get from him, but I'll take it." 

"Lame. Just talk to him later. He'll come around. It's clear he likes you." He says before hopping off his bed. "I need to go now; have to check on the guards in the dungeon. Make sure that everything's just peachy for Zayn." He sighs before walking towards the doorway and leaving. After a brief moment he peeks his head back into the room, a wide smile on his face. "Make sure you talk to Zayn. Maybe something will happen between the two of you. I don't know about you, but I'd love to see him in a relationship with someone. It would be nice to see him actually give a shit about someone, wouldn't it?"

Liam just scoffs as he looks away with a red face. "Well, no one said anything about a relationship. You need to slow it down." He scratches at the back of his neck nervously. Louis just rolls his eyes before mumbling a 'whatever' under his breath and disappearing into the hall once again. Liam just lets out a soft sigh once he knew the other was gone, running a hand through his hair. Louis was enjoying this way too much. He probably shouldn't have told him anything about that. God forbid he actually brings it up to Zayn. Would he kill Liam for that? He wasn't sure, but he wouldn't put it past him to kill someone over something as small as that.

"You almost kissed Zayn? Really?" He nearly jumps ten feet into the air from the sudden voice in his room, whipping his head around fast enough to give him whiplash. "Harry?" He chokes out with wide eyes. "How did you get in here? How did you get out of your cell? How long have you been in here without me or Louis noticing you?"

"Magic." He says as if that explains everything. "I used a charm to keep myself hidden from the two of you until you were alone. I used a crystal ball to find you, and I used another spell to break out of the dungeon. Now that that's aside, I need you." Harry had little to no time to explain things to his former friend. He just needed to get to Zayn and Niall before it was too late. He didn't even want to think what Zayn was doing to the prince at the moment. It terrified him to no end. 

"They're going to figure out you escaped. They're probably already looking for you." Liam whispers in a hushed tone as Harry chews on his bottom lip nervously. His eyes flash white, his hand glowing as a thin layer of magic forms at the door. "No one will be able to get in."

"I don't see how that helps us in our current predicament, Harry." He says flatly and crosses his arms over his chest. "It buys us time." He says as he runs a hand through his knotted hair. 

"Time for what?" He shrieks with wide eyes. "Why are you here? If Louis or Zayn find out that you escaped and that you're in here with me-"

"Zayn might kill Niall. Or he'll make him as fucked up as he is." Liam's eyes narrow when Harry calls the latter fucked up. "Are you seriously going to argue with me about that?" He asks with wide eyes. "Liam." He says sternly. The other just sighs loudly before nodding his head. "You can't tell me that you're perfectly okay with Zayn holding Niall captive. That you're perfectly okay with Zayn either killing him or turning him into an android or something worse. Are you?" 

"Of course I'm not, Harry." He groans and looks around nervously. "But I don't know how I can help you. I'm working for Zayn now. I can't do anything about it." Harry feels his eyes nearly roll to the back of his head. "Of course you can do something about it, Liam. You don't have to follow Zayn's every rule. You're better than this; stooping so low and falling for someone like him. Niall and I were here before him. We were your friends first. You can't just betray us so easily. Niall needs us, Liam." He sounds desperate, more desperate than Liam's ever heard him sound. He's chewing on his bottom lip anxiously, his eyes cast downwards onto the floor. He knew he couldn't let Zayn kill Niall or turn him into an android. He'd never be able to forgive himself and Harry would probably never forgive him either. He shouldn't care; yet he does.

"I still don't know what I could do." He says shakily as he fiddles with his fingers. "It's not like I can waltz in and just demand him to let Niall go. That's not how these things work." He watches Harry closely, not sure what was running through his mind. He purses his lips, his hand running through his hair in a nervous manner. "I might have an idea of what to do, Harry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry that this is so short, but I wanted to show you guys that I'm still alive. I've been busy with school, social life, and I also have other fics on different websites that I've been working on as well. That makes things a little hectic. 
> 
> Also; I have a major exam on the 20th so I'll be studying for that. :) So see you guys after the 20th!!


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